


Expectations

by Pixelatrix



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Angst, Cheating, Child Abuse, Child Neglect, Drama, Dysfunctional Family, Explicit Sexual Content, Light BDSM, M/M, Religious Fanaticism, Religious Guilt, Romance, Rough Sex, Sex Toys, Verbal Abuse, eventually
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-05
Updated: 2015-07-07
Packaged: 2018-02-24 05:52:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 29,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2570507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pixelatrix/pseuds/Pixelatrix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Flint Shepard spends the first seven years of life on Arcturus under the assumption that his parents are Hannah and Shaun Shepard.  He discovers after careless and hurtful words from his mother that she had an affair and he is a constant reminder of guilt.</p><p>She tries to wash her sins away with no success and Flint bears the brunt of the lingering guilt.</p><p>Will be an ongoing story that starts before ME1 and goes through ME3.</p><p>This will be a male Shepard/Hackett romance, in later chapters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I will be AU'ing the timeline a little bit, the Blue Suns start a little earlier and Vido turns on Zaeed earlier as well. Zaeed's also a few years older.
> 
>  
> 
> Bioware owns all sadly.
> 
> Kudos, Subscriptions and Bookmarks are a drug that I love to receive. Comments are chocolate, they make everything better. I am thankful for all of them.
> 
> Shout out to my spectacular betas: CelticGrace & MissMeggo929
> 
> Hope you enjoy

_August 2153_

Zaeed watched the sexy blonde flit around the bar going from man to man striking out. He hadn’t quite figured out why she was getting turned down. She was probably Alliance though he didn’t remember her before. He didn’t look up from his beer when she stopped beside him a few minutes later.

“You’d have a better shot at finding a quick fuck if you took the goddamn wedding ring off of your finger.” Zaeed smirked at her over his beer. He raised an eyebrow when her hand landed on his upper thigh, pushy bitch. “Where’s your husband?”

“Busy.”

“Busy? And you’re feeling lonely?” Zaeed caught her hand in his and squeezed tight enough to be painful. “Careful what you goddamn look for, someone might take you up on the offer.”

“Someone?”

“Think you’re man enough?”

He fucked her up against the wall in the men’s bathroom. She’d looked guilty before he’d even gotten himself back in his goddamn pants. Stupid woman. He caught her name when she paid for her beer tab, _Hannah Shepard._ It wasn’t much of a shock when she slunk out the back of the bar without another word.

With his needs handled for the night, Zaeed paid his own tab and headed out to meet up with Vido. They’d decided to enlist in the Alliance since they had nothing better to do with their time. They might as well get paid to shoot at people.

_June 2157_

His stint in the Alliance hadn’t lasted all that long. Zaeed and Vido had barely made it a year and found taking orders not exactly their idea of a good fucking time. They’d gotten themselves dishonourably discharged and almost immediately hatched a plan to start their own mercenary group, the Blue Suns. They’d been at it almost a year and were starting to make waves.

He was currently sitting on a beach watching a target when a woman walked that he’d never expected to see again. She was followed by a stumbling, sandy haired toddler who looked about three. She was obviously in the later months of yet another pregnancy. He watched her sink down into a lounge chair with the help of a man who must’ve been her husband.

Starting to turn his attention to the person the Suns had been paid to take care of; Zaeed froze as the toddler spun around in his direction. He was a cute kid with a mop of sandy-coloured hair and bright blue eyes. He also looked, aside from the eyes, like a spitting fucking image of a picture Zaeed had seen of himself at that age.

_Bloody hell._

Grabbing the first street urchin to cross his path, Zaeed offered her a hundred credits to grab a couple of strands of hair from the toddler’s hair. He promised an extra fifty if she was careful not to hurt him. An impressive five minutes later he abandoned the target to one of his lieutenants and headed away from the beach.

He took the hair to a private lab for a paternity test. An excessive number of greatest granted him complete privacy and no unnecessary questions. The hours of waiting were almost enough to drive him up the goddamn well.

Hours later however Zaeed sat in a bar trying to wrap his mind around the fact that he was a father. He had a son whose mother had bothered to tell him. He slammed his empty glass on the counter and chose to ignore the disgruntled complaint from the bartender.

What the hell was he supposed to do with knowledge like that?

Calling in a few favours, Zaeed discovered Hannah and Shaun Shepard were part of the first Alliance officers to be stationed on Arcturus a few years back. They now lived there with Flint. His son’s name was Flint. The two had married young, at eighteen. He was going to need to find someone to keep an eye on the family and more importantly the toddler.

He had a son.

A son.

And the conniving bitch never told him. Zaeed highly doubted she’d told her uptight husband either. Hannah had her perfect little family. He’d be damned if he let someone get away with screwing him out of a chance of being a father.

He couldn’t really remember his own farther. His lifestyle wasn’t very goddamn conducive to a toddler. There was no way in hell a man with his reputation and criminal history would be granted custody of a kid over an Alliance straight-arrow. He’d be laughed out of the court.

Best thing he could do was to watch from afar—for now.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bioware owns all sadly.
> 
> Kudos, Subscriptions and Bookmarks are a drug that I love to receive. Comments are chocolate, they make everything better. I am thankful for all of them.
> 
> Shout out to my spectacular betas: CelticGrace & MissMeggo929
> 
> Hope you enjoy

_April 11, 2161_

_From: C.T._

_To: Z.M._

_Subj: Flint._

_His seventh birthday hasn’t gone so well._

_His parents joined that new religious branch of Christianity last year and they’ve started to become super strict with the kids, especially Flint. He seems to be rather protective of his three year old sister, Autumn._

_They threw out his birthday cake and the one toy they’d gotten him because he didn’t do his chores._

_Kid’s seven._

_I’ll keep watching. Have you finished healing up from Vido shooting you in the face? Still can’t believe the bastard had the balls to do it. What are you planning to do now?_

* * *

 

_From: Zaeed Massani_

_To: Lino Ortiz_

_Subj: re: Your son._

_Did you give him the gear I sent for his birthday yet?_

_You can just keep the shit in his locker and say you got it for him if Hannah or Shaun find out._

_How else am I going to give the kid anything?_

_Zaeed_

* * *

 

Lino Ortiz was the track coach at the Academy on Arcturus. He also happened to be one of Zaeed’s most trusted friends. They’d grown up together. Ortiz had done better things with is life than Zaeed.

He’d also immediately recognized Flint. He’d sent Zaeed a message saying he’d seen a young doppelganger of him at the Academy. Zaeed had responded with ‘funny fucking thing about that.’

Hopping on a transport for Arcturus seemed like a stupid goddamn idea, Zaeed couldn’t resist after hearing his kid had been shafted for his birthday. He doubted it was for the first time either. Ortiz told him he was an idiot, but snuck him into the gym which held the school’s running track and various other equipment.

“How’s he doing in school anyway?” Zaeed sat on bleachers watching Ortiz prepare for his young students.

“Do you give a damn?” His friend raised an eyebrow dubiously at him. “Kid’s parents got into some freaky cult or some shit. They’ve gone religious. He’s got a lot of weight on his shoulders. They expect him to be perfect, but ignore him most of the time unless they punish him.”

“Punish?” Zaeed was on his feet and in Ortiz’s face in a second. “Punish how?”

“Nothing like you’re thinking. They make him run. Poor kid must’ve run for hours the other night.” Ortoz shook his head. “He’s seven. And a good damn kid, better than you were at that age.”

“He’s _my_ son.” Zaeed wanted to protect the kid. He had no doubts that a life in a house so suffocating could fuck with the boy.

“Mr. Ortiz.”

The two men looked up as a familiar sandy-haired boy came racing up to them. He skidded to a stop when he realized his coach wasn’t alone. He stammered out apologies and went silent as if waiting for punishment.

“What’s the hurry, Flint?” Ortiz’s voice softened from the harsh tone he’d directed at Zaeed earlier. “You look upset, something wrong?”

“I…” His eyes flickered over to Zaeed. He shifted closer to Ortiz and leaned up on his tiptoes. “Mom said something and I don’t understand it.”

Ortiz’s hand flew out to grab Zaeed by the arm before he could say anything. “This is my friend Mr. Massani. You can trust him.”

“Massani?” Flint stumbled back so quickly he fell to the gym floor with a thud. “Zaeed Massani?”

Ortiz and Zaeed exchanged worried glances. “How’d you know his first name, Flint?”

“Mom was mad at me ‘cause I didn’t fold the sheets right, but my hands are too small.” Flint waved his arms as if to demonstrate. “She was walking away and she said I was just like my scum father, Zaeed Massani. I don’t understand. I…”

“ _Bitch,_ ” Zaeed muttered quietly so only Ortiz would hear him. “Why don’t we have a seat and talk?”

Flint glanced over at his coach first then followed Zaeed to the bleachers. He hopped up on one and sat next to him. He sat perched on the edge as if prepared to run if necessary. “Are you my dad?”

He wasn’t going to lie to the kid though he had no damn idea how to explain the complicated shit to a seven year old. “Yes.”

“Is that why mom doesn’t like me? Cause…I’m good. I promise. I don’t break nothing…’cept for by accident. And I take care of Autumn. She’s my sister. She’s small.” Flint stuck his hand out to demonstrate his little sister’s height. “Mom says I sin a lot. What’s sin?”

“Something adults worry too damn much about.” Zaeed ignored Ortiz’ choked laughter. “Can you keep a secret?”

Flint considered him for a few minutes. “What’s the secret?”

“Smart boy.” Zaeed pulled an omni-tool out of his pocket. “I’m leaving this with your coach, anytime you want to talk to me about anything, you can send me a message.”

“Anytime?” He seemed to think it was a _big_ deal which broke Zaeed’s heart a little. “You won’t get mad or nothing?”

“Not at you, that’s a goddamn promise.” Zaeed hesitantly placed his hand on his son’s shoulder. “When you’re a little older, you’ll understand why we can’t meet in public.”

“S’ok. I understand.” Flint tilted his head and looked up at Zaeed with tired eyes. “Mom kept it a s’cret from Dad. He thinks he’s my dad. She’d get real mad if I told him he’s not. And he’s nice, mosta the time. Mom prays a lot at church. Don’t like it there.”

He grinned down at Flint. “Never liked church myself. I have a surprise for you.”

Flint frowned at him. “S’not chores, is it?”

“No.” He pointed toward the end of the bleachers where there was a set of new running gear and a plate with a slice of cake. “Happy Birthday, son.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lino Ortiz: http://pixelatrix.tumblr.com/post/101847700571/handsomeis-miguel-angel-silvestre-spanish


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bioware owns all sadly.
> 
> Kudos, Subscriptions and Bookmarks are a drug that I love to receive. Comments are chocolate, they make everything better. I am thankful for all of them.
> 
> Shout out to my spectacular betas: CelticGrace & MissMeggo929
> 
> Hope you enjoy

_From: Flint_

_To: Sam_

_Subj: re: Happy 9th Birthday._

_Coach Ortiz said you can’t come for my birthday. It’s okay._

_The game for my omni-tool was awesome._

_Coach says I’m the best runner on the team. I’ve got my first intra-mural track meet next month. I get to go to Earth for it too._

_Mom says if I pray hard enough I might came in second. How hard do I gotta pray for first? Don’t think this prayer stuff woks._

_Mom told Dad…Shaun…we gotta have a prayer room, so now my rooms not my room and I gotta sleep in Autumn’s room._

_S’not fair._

_I don’t wanna have bunkbeds with Autumn. I love her cause she’s my sister and I protect her cause Dad says brothers are sposed to do it._

_How come I always gotta give my stuff up?_

_I wanna live with you, but Autumn’d be by herself so I gotta stay._

_Do you think I can do better than second cause coach says I can do anything if I work hard enough._

_Gotta go. I’ll get in trouble if I don’t walk Autumn home._

_Bye_

_Flint_

* * *

 

Zaeed was sitting in a bar on a small colony a few hours away from Arcturus when he received the message from Flint and a second one from his son’s coach. Lino had picked up all of Flint’s posters and other items which Hannah had donated to charity because she deemed them nonessentials. Autumn’s room was apparently already filled with typical little girl stuff.

_Poor Flint._

His blood boiled at the callous way Hannah treated his son, yet coddled her daughter. Zaeed suspected she felt guilt whenever she saw Flint. It explained her sudden and zealot-like religious bent.

He knew from Ortiz the Shepard’s had spent a lot of time trying to get pregnant, spending credits on medical procedures. Hannah had likely been desperate when she went looking for a man. It made sense she started to feel guilt when she was able to have a child with her husband and explained why she treated Autumn better than Flint.

When Zaeed first discovered Flint was his, he’d done an in-depth background check on Shaun Shepard. He turned out to be somewhat of a straight-arrow and a career Alliance marine. He had no history of anything worrying.

It was Hannah who worried Zaeed the most. She had a habit of taking this to extremes. Flint’s conception was proof of it. He only hoped the safeguards in place would keep his son safe, though maybe not happy.

Spotting his bounty leaving the bar, Zaeed focused on the job at hand. Ortiz would keep an eye on Flint until he could sneak in to see him again. He didn’t like missing birthdays particularly since the Shepards no longer celebrated holidays—goddamn fools.

* * *

 

_From: Lino Ortiz_

_To: Zaeed Massani_

_Subj: Storage._

_All his stuff is safe in storage. I managed to retrieve all of it from the donation box. You owe me credits for the rather large monetary donation I had to make to get them. I’ll pay for the storage myself._

_What is wrong with his parents?_

_They started a restrictive diet for ‘religious purposes’ and sent a letter to the dean of the academy about it. I’m keeping food for Flint in a small fridge in my office. He sneaks half of it into his pocket for his sister when he thinks I’m not looking._

_He’s a good kid who deserves better. I’m attaching the details for his track meet in Houston, if you’d like to attend. I’m confident neither Hannah or Shaun will be there._

_Lino_

* * *

 

“Shepard, get your ass over here.” Coach Ortiz’s voice boomed across the track to where Flint was stretching with the rest of the team. He liked being on Earth. It was fun without his parents. “ _Shepard_.”

Flint dashed away from his friends and skidded to a halt in front of his coach. “Sir?”

Ortiz crouched down next to him. “See the man over my shoulder on the third row with a yellow and black hat on?”

“What?” Flint leaned his head around his couch and immediately spotted a familiar face on the bleachers mixed in with the other parents. “He came? He came.”

“So he did.” Coach Ortiz squeezed his shoulder. “Now you have someone aside from me cheering for you, son. Get your ass out there and do your best.”

There’d never been a parent in the stands for him, that often anyway. Mom never went to his stuff. She only went to Autumn’s school stuff. His dad was usually on an Alliance ship somewhere, mom was stationed to the Alliance office on Arcturus. Dad..Shaun…went a couple of times a year, none this year though.

This was different.

Zaeed had come to his track meet.

He ran faster than ever in all three of his events. Not only did he win first place, but he broke his own speed record. It was the first time he’d ever gotten first place or a real trophy. He’d only won ribbons before.

Bouncing on the balls of his feet with excitement, Flint couldn’t’ contain his energy. His coach led him into an empty locker room where Zaeed waited for him. He flung himself into his dad’s arms.

“I got first place.” Flint waved his trophy around almost smacking Zaeed in the chin. He grew quiet when he remembered what had happened to his ribbons. He eased away from Zaeed and shoved the trophy in his hands. “You keep it.”

Zaeed looked down at the trophy in confusion. “Why? Flint?”

He fidgeted uneasily under the intense scrutiny of both men. “I don’t got room for it at home.”

He watched nervously when Zaeed exchanged a glance with his coach. His stomach started to hurt like it did before the race. He wondered if maybe he should’ve just let his mom throw it away.

“What happens to your ribbons and prizes when you take them home, Flint?” Coach Ortiz asked while drawing him over to the bench near the lockers to sit down. Zaeed sat on the other side of him. “Flint?”

“Nothin’,” he shrugged.

“We won’t tell anyone,” Coach promised.

“Mom says pride’s a sin and puts ‘em all in the trash. “ Flint jumped off of the bench when Zaeed cursed loudly. He stepped back against the lockers. “How come my trophy’s a sin, but Mom and Dad wear medals all the time? I don’t get it.”

“Because your mother is a…” Zaeed was cut off when Coach Ortiz elbowed him in the side causing Flint to laugh. “It’s not fair, son. I know it isn’t fair. But…I’ll keep your trophy safe for you.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.” Zaeed watched him carefully for a moment. “Now, I think you deserve a treat for doing your best.”

“Not for winning?”

“Anyone can win, Flint, you did your best and that’s the only goddamn thing that matters.” Zaeed dragged Ortiz up off of the bench. “How about we grab burgers and fries before you have to meet your team to head home?

Flint hadn’t had burgers in forever ‘cause of the stupid diet. “Can I have a shake too?”

“How about it, Lino?” Zaeed shoved the man toward the door. “You’re buying.”

“Cheap bastard.”

Zaeed paused to wrap his arm around Flint’s shoulder. “You did good out there today. I’m proud of you.”

Flint scrubbed at his eyes when they started to tear up. Mom never said she was proud. She always said he as a disappointment. He wasn’t sure what it meant, but it was bad. Zaeed pulled him into a hug.

“C’mon, you two.” Coach Ortiz called after a few minutes.

“Dad?” Flint tugged on Zaeed’s shirt.

“Hmm?”

“I love you.” Flint bolted past him out of the locker room so he didn’t get in trouble. Mom never liked it when he said I love you. He usually whispered it to Autumn to keep out of trouble.

“ _Flint._ ”

He froze in the middle of the track and waited for Zaeed to catch up with him. “Sorry. I’m sorry. I won’t say it again.”

“Hey.” Zaeed ruffled his hair. “I love you too.”

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Potential Triggers in this chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes:
> 
> Bioware owns all sadly.
> 
> Kudos, Subscriptions and Bookmarks are a drug that I love to receive. Comments are chocolate, they make everything better. I am thankful for all of them.
> 
> Shout out to my spectacular betas: CelticGrace & MissMeggo929
> 
> Hope you enjoy

Flint closed his book the moment his mom walked into the room.  He’d been reading one of his dad bought him during his last visit.  He didn’t want her to find out though…he could only imagine the drama when she did find out.

"Flint?"

"Hmm?"

"The next door neighbor saw you having burgers with someone after school. Who were you with?" Hannah flipped through a catalog for supplies for Autumn.  She never really paid attention to him even when she was talking to him. "Answer me. You know you’re not supposed to eat burgers."

"I have no idea, I wasn’t there. I was at practice until I had to pick up Autumn to come home." Flint shrugged indifferently. "People are weird, mom."

“We have a reputation to uphold in this community. I want you in the chapel on your knees for an hour praying.” Hannah pointed toward the spare bedroom which had been turned into a prayer room. “ _Now_. Just because you’re thirteen now is no reason to become even more disobedient than usual.”

Later at dinner, Flint found himself being questioned again by his mom. Autumn pushed her food around on her plate nervously. He wished Shaun had come home for dinner like he promised. Mom was usually calmer with him around.

“I want an answer, Flint.” She slammed the palm of her hand on the table. “Who were you with this afternoon?”

“Coach Ortiz and his friend, Mr. Massani.” He finally blurted it out afraid of what would happen if he didn’t answer.

“Autumn, sweetie, go to your room.” Hannah’s voice went quiet which always scared Flint. He shook his head when Autumn started to argue and she darted away from the table. Hannah turned back to him. “What do you know about Mr. Massani?”

“He stays with Coach sometimes.” Flint shrank back into his chair.

Hannah shot to her feet suddenly and pointed toward her chair. “Come here, _now_.”

Not wanting to anger her further, Flint trudged around the table trying not to scuff his sneakers against the carpet. He flinched when she shoved him down until he was bent over the dining room chair. He cried out in shock when something hard hit his lower back.

Flint risked a peek under his arm to catch his mom swinging one of the thick pieces of wood which usually sat in a large pot by the front door at him for a second time. He tried to wiggle away, but she pushed him down again. He lost track of the hits while he started to feel sick.

“ _Mommy!_ Stop it, you’re hurting him.” Autumn rushed into the dining room, but Flint shouted at her to stay away. She was crying loudly and he tried bravely to be quiet so she’d calm down a bit. “Daddy, make her stop.”

“What in god’s name are you doing? _Hannah.”_ Shaun rushed over from the front door to catch Hannah by the waist to drag her across the room.

Flint slid off of the chair to collapse on the floor on his knees just in time for Autumn to launch herself at him. Her arms wrapped around his neck. He patted her on the back. “S’okay. I’m okay.”

“Uhuh.” She shook her head at him. “Mommy was bad.”

Shaun had his wife in the farthest corner of the room. “Touch either of them like that ever again, and I’m taking the kids and leaving you.”

Their parents argued for a while and Flint used the distraction to bring Autumn to their bedroom. He told her to hide there until their dad came for her. He pulled on his track hoodie and snuck out of the apartment. He caught a tram to take him across the station to his coach’s house.

“Flint?” Coach Ortiz answered after the first buzz of the bell. “What’s wrong? It’s a little late for you to be out.”

“Can…” Flint didn’t know what to say. He shoved his hands into his hoodie pockets and kicked his shoe against the ground. “I wanna talk to dad.”

“C’mon, son. Have you eaten dinner yet?” He stepped back to let Flint in and patted him on the back when he walked by him. Flint tried not to cry out, but it hurt so bad. Ortiz took him by the arm immediately and led him over to the sofa. “Show me.”

“What…” Flint decided not to try to pretend so he twisted around to lift the back of his shirt. “It’s not so bad.”

* * *

 

_From: Lino Ortiz_

_To: Zaeed Massani_

_Subj: Change in plans._

_Vid-comm, ten minutes._

_Keep your temper under control; Flint’s had enough anger for one day._

_I’d recommend booking the next transit you can find to Arcturus._

_Lino_

* * *

 

With his message sent, Lino left the room to retrieve bruise cream which was usually used for sports injuries along with a bottle of juice and pain meds. He rubbed the cream as gently as possible onto the long bruises across Flint’s back which started around his shoulders and stopped just above his belt-line. He handed the kid the aspirin and juice then sat beside him. “Your dad will be on the vid-comm in a few minutes. Do you want to talk about what happened tonight?”

“Told mom I had lunch with you…and your friend.” Flint fidgeted for a few minutes. “She kinda thinks he’s your boyfriend now.”

“Boyfriend?”

“Dad.”

“Ahh.”

“Sorry, s’not true, but mom…” Flint cringed when Lino reached out for him. He kept his hand as gentle as possible when he rested it on his shoulder. “She got real mad.   Dad, Shaun, pulled her off of me when he came home. Didn’t know where else to go, they’re gonna be so made I ran away.”

“It’s all right, son.” Lino’s heart broke for the kid, but he was also furious. Flint was a good kid, smart and kind to others. He looked out for the little kids and had no tolerance for bullies. He deserved better than what he was getting. “Why don’t I talk to Shaun while you talk to your dad? I’ll fix dinner for us both, and maybe things at home will calm down in the mean time.”

“Can we have something that’s not green?” Flint stuck his tongue out in disgust.

Lino shook his head with a laugh. _Resilient kid._ “I tell you what, how about I order in that cheeseburger pizza you like so much?”

“With extra cheese?”

“With extra cheese.”

“ _Awesome_.”

Lino glanced up when the vid-comm beeped. “Why don’t you talk to Zaeed while I order pizza?”

* * *

 

_From: Lino Ortiz_

_To: Shaun Shepard_

_Subj: Flint._

_He came to my apartment._

_I’ll fix him dinner. Why doesn’t he stay here for the night and he can head home after school tomorrow? Give things a chance to calm down._

_I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt that this is something which will never happen again. I’ve tended to the bruises on his back. If I ever see anything like it on him again, I will report it._

_Have a good evening. Look after your daughter._

_Ortiz_

* * *

 

Zaeed waited impatiently for the vid-comm to connect. He’d imagined a fairly large number of very _bad_ things while letting ten minutes pass. It took a few minutes before his son finally flickered into few looking _uneasy._

“Uh.” Flint looked down for a second. “Hi, Dad.”

“You okay?”

“Yeah…no.” Flint’s shoulders drooped a little and he seemed to wince which sent Zaeed’s anger soaring. “I…told mom I knew you…well not that you’re my dad or nothing, but I said I had lunch with you and Coach.”

“And what happened?”

“She got real mad.” Flint appeared the most anxious Zaeed could ever recall seeing him. “She…”

“I’ll be on Arcturus tomorrow. How about you tell me when I’m there?” Zaeed planned to get the full fucking story from Lino in any case. “

“D’ya ever get scared?” Flint asked.

“Everyone does. Were you afraid of your mom?” Zaeed felt his chest compress at the jerky nods Flint answered with. “I’m going to do my best to make sure you don’t have to be afraid of her again.”

“Yeah.” He didn’t seem very hopeful.

* * *

 

_From: Shaun Shepard_

_To: Lino Ortiz_

_Subj: re: Flint._

_I’ll bring his school bag and some clothes over._

_Thank you for looking out for him. I know he deserves better. I’m doing my best._

_Shaun_

 

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bioware owns all sadly.
> 
> Kudos, Subscriptions and Bookmarks are a drug that I love to receive. Comments are chocolate, they make everything better. I am thankful for all of them.
> 
> Shout out to my spectacular betas: CelticGrace & MissMeggo929
> 
> Hope you enjoy

When Flint got home after school the following morning, he entered with his heart racing. Autumn hadn’t been at school which worried him a lot. He hadn’t been able to focus on his schoolwork or on his running.

His mom was supposed to be shipping out for a six month tour tomorrow morning. She’d promised to take both him and his sister with her. Flint planned on spending the evening packing his stuff up. Shaun had already returned to his ship so he was a little scared to go home.

It took him five minutes to realize not only was no one home, but no one was going to be home for a while. A note on the fridge explained Hannah had decided his punishment would be to stay home by himself. Autumn would go on the promised trip without him.  His mom had scheduled a food delivery service to provide his food and she expected him to keep the house clean and take care of his own laundry for the next six months.

He trudged down the hallway to his room to put his stuff away only to find both his room and his parent’s room were locked. A pile of his clothes sat in front of the door along with his books and other items.   He stared despondently down at it in confusion.

They’d left him alone.

Where was he supposed to sleep?

Struggling to grab everything off of the floor, Flint walked slowly back into the living room to dump it all onto an arm chair. He spared a glance at the couch and found something he’d missed earlier-one pillow and a blanket.   His mom had intended for him to sleep on the sofa.

Flint ate the green mush stuff for dinner and sat listlessly on the couch afterward. They’d never left him alone before. He was thirteen though and tried to convince himself only babies were scared to stay by themselves.

It wasn’t until the door buzzer went off that Flint realized he’d completely forgotten Coach Ortiz intended to check in on him. He rushed over to the door, forgetting to hide the clothes and blankets. He found both his coach and Zaeed waiting on the other side of the door for him.

“You can’t be here.” Flint didn’t think it would be a good idea for them to find out he’d been left.

“It’s okay, son.” Ortiz gestured toward his father. “We’ve decided that Zaeed’s going to move in with me for a little while. I planned to introduce him to your parents.”

“They’re busy.” Flint stayed where he was attempting to block the door. “They…”

“Flint?” Zaeed rested his hand on his son’s shoulder to walk him backwards into the living room. He glanced at the blanket and pillows on the bed, and the clothes piled up on the armchair. “Where are your parents?”

“I…”

Coach Ortiz bent down to retrieve the note Flint had dropped in his haste to get to the door.  He scanned it quickly then handed it to Zaeed. He looked over at the thirteen year old watching them anxiously. “Get your stuff from your room, you aren’t staying here.”

“Can’t.” Flint cringed when Zaeed let loose a long, loud stream of curses. “Sorry.”

“ _Massani._ ” Ortiz shot a glare at Zaeed before resting his hand on Flint’s shoulder. “We’re not upset with you.”

“I’m thirteen. I can…”

“You’ll stay with us,” Ortiz interrupted firmly. “Go get your clothes.”

Flint gestured toward the stack on the armchair. “S’all I have right now. I can’t get in my room.”

“It’s locked?”

He stared at the two adults like they were stupid. “Yes. I tried to tell you earlier.”

“That…” Zaeed’s mouth was swiftly covered by the Coach.

“Leave your stuff, Flint.” He motioned for him to follow them. “Grab your books.”

* * *

 

_From: Lino Ortiz_

_To: Shaun Shepard_

_Subj: Flint._

_I warned you._

_Your wife chose to leave your son alone at home for six months. Were you aware of it? I’m guessing you won’t mind all that much if I take care of him until you return. He might be thirteen, but six months by himself is a little much._

_Ortiz_

* * *

 

Zaeed pulled his temper in since terrifying his son wouldn’t help anyone. They left the pile of clothes much to Flint’s distress when they returned to Lino’s apartmen.t He’d decided the guest room would be Flint’s—permanently.

While Flint and Lino had been at the Academy all day, Zaeed had haphazardly thrown together both a wardrobe and room fit for a thirteen year old boy. Lino had insisted the kid could have the room. The eight hours non-stop of work was more than worth it when Flint stepped inside.

“My posters.” Flint twisted around in the middle of the room looking around at the stuff. He touched one of his toy robots which had gotten thrown out with the rest of his stuff when he moved in with Autumn. He clutched onto one like a lifeline and stared over at the two men by the door in confusion. “I don’t get it.”

“I’d have brought in your old furniture too, but you’ve grown since your mom threw it all out. I don’t think you’d fit right.” Zaeed felt suddenly very self-conscious. He grunted in annoyance when Lino shoved him into the room and stepped back to leave father and son alone. “This is _your_ room, just yours. It’ll stay that goddamn way.”

“Mine?” Flint peered past him at the open closet which was filled with clothes and sports gear. “But…”

“You have a safe place whenever you need. I don’t give a fucking bloody fig for whatever the hell Hannah says. You get scared, you come here.” Zaeed had to brace himself as he suddenly had an armful of a gangly thirteen year old. He squeezed his son tightly. “I’ll do my best to make sure she never hurts you again.”

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bioware owns all sadly.
> 
> Kudos, Subscriptions and Bookmarks are a drug that I love to receive. Comments are chocolate, they make everything better. I am thankful for all of them.
> 
> Shout out to my spectacular betas: CelticGrace & MissMeggo929
> 
> Hope you enjoy

Zaeed stood in the kitchen looking into the living room where Flint worked feverishly on his homework.   His son had been like this every day for the past week since moving into Lino’s place. He frowned at the messy brown hair which shook whenever Flint fidgeted while trying to work on a problem.

“He’s trying to make sure the homework is done so he can spend as much time with you as possible.” Lino drifted over to mutter to him. He shoved Zaeed in the back. “Help him with his history.”

“The fuck do I know about history?” Zaeed muttered under his breath, but joined his son sitting beside him at the table. “What are you working on?”

“First Contact War.” Flint tilted the screen of his datapad to show a series of questions. He started to pull it away from Zaeed. “I can do it.”

He leaned over to pluck the datapad from his son. “Let me see if I can help.”

Flint stared at him looking completely bewildered. “Help? Parents don’t…”

“Hmm.” Zaeed glanced at the list of questions. He could address the issue of Flint’s obvious belief, likely installed from his fucking mother, that parents don’t help _him_ or he could demonstrate. “Not certain number three is right, why don’t we look at your notes from class to check?”

The two spent over an hour going through Flint’s history homework. Zaeed refused to give him the answers, but helped guide him through the material. He wasn’t all that certain his son _needed_ much help with his homework, but he wasn’t about to turn down the opportunity for quality time.

“How about you two get your lazy asses in here and help me finish dinner?” Lino threw a dishcloth at Zaeed and Flint collapsed into laughter when it smacked his dad in the face.

“Watch it.” Zaeed shoved him out of his chair. “In the kitchen, let’s show the man we can cook.”

Flint glanced between the two men. “I dunno how to cook. I can clean.”

Resting his hands on his son’s shoulders, Zaeed guided him into the kitchen where Lino was pulling out a steak to cut into strips for the fajitas they were having. Zaeed flipped the knife in his hands a few times to his son’s amazement then moved over to a second cutting board to work on the other fixings. He worked slowly, showing Flint how to work with the knife and different ways to cut.

He was impressed with Flint’s steady hands, though given the amount of dedication he put into his running. It wasn’t all that surprising. The kid had a lot of potential. He couldn’t believe the lack of attention Hannah and Shaun paid to him.

“Dad?” Flint hesitated while cutting up a red pepper. “Do you like Coach Ortiz?”

“He’s all right for being a pain in the ass.” Zaeed ruffled his son’s hair. “Why?”

“No, like… _like_ him.” Flint’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Mom said…”

Zaeed could just imagine what the bitch had said about two men _liking_ each other. “We’ve _liked_ each other in the past, why?”

“It’s not bad to…like a boy?”

Zaeed glanced over the tall, muscled man frying up the steak. “Not quite a boy.”

“ _Dad_.”

“It’s not bad. Is there a girl you like at school? You’re getting to that crazy goddamn age.” Zaeed grinned at the blush on his son’s cheek. “Or is it a boy?”

“Boy.”

“Hmm.”

“Mom…” Flint dropped the knife on the counter and ran down the hall to his room.

“I’ll finish up dinner.”

Zaeed nodded to Lino then headed down the hall to talk to his son. “Can I come in?”

“Yeah.”

He found his son sitting on the floor with his back against the foot of the bed. He dropped down on the floor next to him. “Do you want to talk about what your mom did?”

“No.”

“Do you want to talk about the boy?”

“ _No.”_ Flint covered his face with his hands. “She made me pray and said it was wrong and made me tell the priest. It was soooo embarrassing. Why’s it wrong? It’s not wrong for mom to like Shaun.”

“It’s not _wrong_.” Zaeed wrapped his arm around his son’s shoulders. “Your mom’s full of shit. I’m sorry, kid, but she’s not right in the head. Just ignore her.”

Flint’s mouth fell open in surprise then he started to laugh. He frowned a moment later though. “I get in trouble if I ignore her.”

“Hmm.” Zaeed tapped his finger against Flint’s forehead and then his chest. “Ignore her in your head and heart, son. You do what you have to do to survive, until you can leave home.”

“Are you and Coach gonna…get married?”

Zaeed gaped at his son who grinned mischievously at him. “You are a little troublemaker just like your father. I’m so goddamn proud.”

Flint stared at the tattoos on Zaeed’s arms. “Can I get a tattoo?”

“When you’re eighteen, I’ll take you to get your first tattoo,” Zaeed promised.

“Really?”

“Yeah, but I’m not paying for it. Mooching little punk.” Zaeed chuckled when Flint glared at him. He was slowly trying to get the kid use to playful teasing and being comfortable around adults who cared…who he could relax around. “How about I teach you how to clean and strip my rifle?”

“ _Sweet._ ”

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bioware owns all sadly.
> 
> Kudos, Subscriptions and Bookmarks are a drug that I love to receive. Comments are chocolate, they make everything better. I am thankful for all of them.
> 
> Shout out to my spectacular betas: CelticGrace & MissMeggo929
> 
> Hope you enjoy

Sullen.

It was the word Flint heard from all of his teachers the Monday his mom and Autumn came home. He’d moved back into their quarters on Sunday night. His dad and Lino, as coach had insisted on being called, helped him dump all but a couple of the meals from the food service. They cleaned the place up and made it look as if he’d stayed there.

The idea had actually been Shaun’s who hadn’t thought it was to give Hannah any reason to be angry with Flint.   He’d never understand adults. Why couldn’t Shaun have just made sure she didn’t leave him?

He might’ve missed his sister, but going home sucked.   It wasn’t fair. Living in a room with a ten year old girl sucked. The weird food was nasty. He hated being ignored yet always blamed for everything.

Flint wanted to stay with his dad and Lino where he had his own room. The two men spent six months teaching him stuff. He’d eaten burgers and watched movies and had his own room.

_His own room._

Now Flint was back on his half of the bunk beds and it sucked. He was happy to see Autumn and even happier when Shaun was the one to bring her home. It would’ve been a lie to say he hadn’t been happier with Zaeed and Lino.

Dinner was where it all went wrong. His mom served the weird nutrient porridge. Flint could barely stomach it after months of really food.   It made him want to barf just smelling the mush.

His mom made it worse by alternating between pretending her son wasn’t there to ridiculing him to berating the way the apartment looked. Flint tried so hard to ignore her like Zaeed had taught him. He finally lost control of his temper. It hurt to know what a happy family was like and then come home to this.

So he got angry.

“You left your…”

“Leave. Me. Alone.” Flint banged his fist on the table. “You locked me out of my room. You left me here by myself. So leave me alone.”

“Flint.” Shaun placed a restraining hand on his wife when she started to stand up. “Settle down, son. I know you’re upset. We can talk about this calmly.”

“You’re not my dad.” Flint snapped at him. He clamped his hand over his mouth in horror.

There was dead silence in the room. Autumn shrank into her chair with her gaze flickering between the rest of the family.   Flint’s eyes were focused on the bowl in front of him. He prayed for a way to take the words back, like all of his prayers, it went unanswered. Shaun’s attention however remained on his wife wanting to know who questioned him.

“He’s a little liar.”

“Flint’s not a liar.” Autumn glared at their mother. “Mom’s always mean to him and it’s not fair.”

“Hannah?” Shaun silenced Autumn with a shake of his head. “If I have the doctor on my ship do a quick paternity test, who is Flint’s father going to be?”

“Shaun…I’m…we couldn’t have kids for so long, and I prayed and…” Hannah reached for Flint, but Shaun held her in her chair. He asked her a second time about the father of _their_ son. “It’s Zaeed Massani.”

* * *

 

_From: Lino Ortiz_

_To: Zaeed Massani_

_Subj: re: homecoming._

_Not sure Flint’s doing so great._

_Something happened at home. He hasn’t come to see me today so far. I’m going to try to talk to him at practice later._

_Lino_

* * *

 

“Take me with you.” Flint grabbed at Shaun’s hand while he packed Autumn’s clothes. “Please, dad. You can’t leave me with mom. She’ll be so mad.”

“We’ll just be a few doors down, son. Autumn and I are staying in one of the empty officer’s quarters.” Shaun wrapped him in a hug. “I can’t live with your mother, not after this. Autumn’s staying with me, but you’ll see her at school.”

“But…”

“I’m sorry, Flint, I am. This isn’t your fault.” Shaun glanced from Flint over to Autumn who was slumped on her bed with tears in her eyes. “I love both of you. I don’t want either of you to feel as if any of this is your fault.”

“Whatever,” Flint shrugged despondently.

“If your mother lays a hand on you, come talk to me immediately. I’ve already warned her about taking her anger out on you.” Shaun squeezed Flint one last time then grabbed the packed suitcase and left the room with a sniffling Autumn following.

“Please don’t leave me with her. I’ll be good, I won’t lose my temper. I can cook. I can…” Flint followed them all the way to the front door. He tried to tug the suitcase from Shaun’s hand. “I’m sorry. Please don’t go. Please.”

“I’m so sorry, son.” Shaun gently removed Flint’s hand from the suitcase and left.

Flint stared at the closed door and sternly told himself not to cry.   He finally made himself go back to his room. He glanced around the mostly empty shelves and clambered up onto the top bunk. He didn’t want to be anywhere near his mom when she came home.

“Where are your father and sister?” Hannah stormed into his room without bothering to knock.

“Dunno.”

She grabbed his arm and yanked him off of his bed. Flint fell against the edge of Autumn’s desk. He grabbed his side as it immediately started to hurt. “Where _are_ they?”

“I dunno.”

“This is all your fault.” Hannah grabbed his shoulders and shook him hard. “You’re to blame.”

“Mom…”

She shoved him hard against the desk. Flint stumbled then dodged her arm to race out of the room. He made it out the door before she could catch him. He started to go find Shaun, but ended up banging on his coach’s door in a panic.

“Flint?” Lino stepped back to allow Flint to dash inside. He caught him by the arm when he stumbled. “Are you hurt? You have the code to the door.”

“I…” Flint’s side hurt really badly, but he was afraid to say anything. He finally lifted the edge of his t-shirt to show the massive bruising on his side. “I fell on my desk. And Dad….Shaun left with Autumn and mom’s really mad.”

“You fell?” Lino crouched down to get a better look. “What really happened, Flint?”

“I fell,” he muttered stubbornly.

“Flint? Talk to me.”

“I…” Flint stared down at the ground. “I screwed up. I… got really mad and now Shaun knows he’s not my dad. And he took Autumn with him when he left. It’s just me and mom. Mom’s really upset. She pulled me off of the bed and I fell on the desk.”

Lino ran his fingers along Flint’s side, checking to see if anything was broken. “You’re going to be sore tomorrow.”

“Yeah.”

“Flint?”

He looked at his coach. “Yeah?”

“This is _not_ your fault. The adults in your life screwed the hell up, you didn’t.” Lino stood up and led him toward the kitchen. “Would you like some of my leftover paella?”

“Yeah.” Flint trudged after him. “Why couldn’t Shaun take me with him? Why can’t I stay here with you and Dad? Why do I gotta stay with mom? Mom hates me.”

“She doesn’t…”

“Yes, she does. She hates me.” Flint ran out of the kitchen down the hall to his room. He threw himself onto his bed and dragged a pillow over his head.

“Flint.” Lino knocked on the door before entering. “Your mom…”

Flint sat up slowly. “She has to hate me ‘cause if she doesn’t then why does she treat me so bad. What’d I do? I try so hard to be good, I do. It’s not fair.”

“No, it really isn’t fair at all.” Lino sat next to him and draped his arm around Flint’s shoulders. “But I care about you and so does your dad.”

* * *

 

_From: Shaun Shepard_

_To: Zaeed Massani_

_Subj: re: Flint._

_He is a good boy._

_I care about him a great deal and I will always love him as a son. The truth is, he’s not my son and I would lose any custody attempt if I tried. I’m not on Arcturus enough to keep an eye on him._

_I’ll be a character reference if you want to fight for custody. I’ll tell the truth about Hannah and what she’s done over the years._

_My retirement is coming up in a little over a year. I plan on moving to Mindoir with Autumn so if you’re going for custody, I’d recommend doing it before I leave. I won’t return to Arcturus when I’m gone._

_I hope you are successful. Flint deserves a happy home where he’s loved._

_Shaun_


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are potential triggers in this chapter. The next few chapters should be much lighter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bioware owns all sadly.
> 
> Kudos, Subscriptions and Bookmarks are a drug that I love to receive. Comments are chocolate, they make everything better. I am thankful for all of them.
> 
> Shout out to my spectacular betas: CelticGrace & MissMeggo929
> 
> Hope you enjoy

Flint crossed his arms and glared at his younger sister. “Stop it. I’m not fighting with you.  I’ll get in trouble.”

Autumn stopped poking him in the side and frowned at him.   She was three years younger than him, just turned eleven and they should’ve been at each other’s throats, but were instead very close. “I’m sorry.”

"It’s not your fault." Flint couldn’t blame her for the fact that their mother loved her more than him—or didn’t love him at all. "Just…why don’t we go for a run, eh?"

She turned sharp blue eyes over to him. “You’re going to have to stop running eventually.”

"Okay Shaun." Flint laughed at her.  It was something her father, his step-father, was always saying to him. "Just try and keep up, runt."

"Oh, it’s on now." She shoved him in the back and took off running.

They didn’t get to spend as much time together lately. Shaun had moved out of the apartment and filed for divorce. He was retiring in a few months and moving with Autumn to Mindoir to work security for the colonists. Flint worried what was going to happen when it was just him and his mom left on Arcturus.

She already blamed him for the break-up of their family. Flint wasn’t sure how she was going to respond when Shaun left. It wasn’t going to be a lot of fun.

Running across the station together, they dodged the crowds near the station movie theater and made their way near the docks. It was one of Flint’s favourite places to run. He was catching up to Autumn when he noticed a cruiser coming into dock a little low.

He poured on the speed to knock his little sister to the ground behind a crate. His momentum took him off of his feet, skidding along the pathway to come to a stop inches from where the ship had crashed onto the dock. He started to get up when an explosion rocked the ground underneath him.

“You _stupid_ little shit.”

It was the first thing Flint heard when he woke up. He opened his eyes to find he was in a very white room which smelled kinda funny. It took a moment to realize it was a hospital room and his mom was yelling at him.

“Hannah.” Shaun grabbed her to escort her out of the room which left him alone with Lino and his dad. “What are you doing here?”

“What do you remember, son?” Zaeed moved closer to the bed.

“Running?” Flint glanced down at the bandages on his arms. “We were on the docks. I don’t…there was a ship.”

“A cruiser crashed…”

“ _Autumn!_ ”

“You saved her life.” Lino hastened to assure him. “She’s fine, but you were both exposed to Eezo.”

“Huh?”

“You’re gonna glow blue.” Zaeed winked at him.

“ _Zaeed_.”

Flint laughed at his coach’s exasperated tone then winced when his head hurt. He reached back to touch the new scar he could feel. “What’s that?”

“Implant. It’ll help you control your biotics when you start feeling them. Autumn didn’t receive as much exposure, so she won’t ‘glow blue.’” Lino assured Flint who was definitely more worried about his sister than himself.

“I’m very proud of you.”

* * *

 

_Form: Zaeed Massani_

_To: Matthew Edwards_

_Subj: re: Custody Papers._

_File them now._

_I’m moving permanently into a place on Arcturus. I can easily run bounties from here. I’m more concerned about how Hannah will handle my son’s new biotic abilities._

_I’m forwarding all the documentation you needed, along with a letter from Hannah’s former husband. It might help sway the court._

_Massani_

* * *

 

Three days after Flint’s release from the hospital and a week before Autumn and Shaun were set to leave for Mindoir, things went horribly wrong. Zaeed was helping Lino organize some of the track team’s equipment when Autumn ran into the room looking panicked and frightened. She went head-first into Lino who caught her before she fell.

“Autumn?” Zaeed’s heart started to pound since he couldn’t think of one _good_ reason for her to look so bloody terrified. He could however imagine one very bad reason for it. “What’s wrong?”

“Flint…Mom.” Autumn gasped for air and struggled to get the words out. “Church.”

“Go to the Dean’s office, tell him what happened and tell him to contact the Alliance security office. They need to meet us at the church.” Lino guided Autumn out of the gym.

Zaeed didn’t think he’d ever moved quite as quickly as he was following Lino out of the academy into a skycar. They rushed across the station to the chapel Hannah frequented. It was dark in the sanctuary and the two men ran down the aisle toward a hallway in the back which led to a set of doors.

“ _Stop._ ”

The pained cry from his son sent Zaeed barreling through a door on his left. His heart shuddered to a stop when he caught sight of a shirtless Flint bound to an old wooden chair. A priest prayed over him while Hannah lashing him with a whip that looked practically medieval.

“You…”

“Take care of your son.” Lino shoved Zaeed toward Flint while he caught Hannah’s arm to drag her over and shove her against a wall. He glared at the priest who immediately took a step back and stayed where he was.   “Get him to the hospital. I’ll wait for these two to be picked up.”

“Flint?” Zaeed laid him gently across his shoulder to carry him out to the skyar. I’m taking you away from that goddamn bitch. She will _never_ touch you again. _Ever._ ”

“Dad?” Flint lifted up with weakly with a dazed look when Zaeed sat him down inside the vehicle. “Hurts.”

“I know, son.” Zaeed gritted his teeth in an attempt to control is rage at Hannah. He focused on getting the kid to the nearest hospital. “It’s going to be okay. I’ll goddamn make sure of it.”

“Hurts.”

It was the only thing Flint said until the doctor gave him a sedative. There were long, torn cuts along his chest which would require skin grafts. While his son underwent surgery, Zaeed dealt with making sure he never spent another minute within a hundred yards of his mother.

His attorney had already filed and been granted an emergency injunction which granted Zaeed at least temporary full custody of his son.   Shaun had decided to stay around for a few more days and along with Lino provided witness to the family court. There really wasn’t much doubt Flint would be turned over to Zaeed permanently, especially since Hannah was being sent to the brig for a _very_ long time.

He stepped into the hospital recovery room a few hours later to find Flint peek inside his shirt at his chest. “How you feeling?”

“Where’d they go?” Flint gestured to where the ugly scars should’ve been.

“The doctor fixed you up.”

“Wicked.” Flint grinned, but there were shadows behind the smile. “Is…”

“Your…Hannah is on her way to earth to spend a very long time behind prison bars.” Zaeed perched on the edge of the bed. He took Flint’s hand. “How’d you like to live with me now?”

“All the time?”

“Yep.”

“Promise?” Flint grabbed at Zaeed’s hand. “Promise? You gotta promise.”

“I promise even if I have to take you without fucking permission and live outside of the Alliance.” Zaeed gently eased him into a hug. “She’s never fucking touching you again.”

 

 

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bioware owns all sadly.
> 
> Kudos, Subscriptions and Bookmarks are a drug that I love to receive. Comments are chocolate, they make everything better. I am thankful for all of them.
> 
> Shout out to my spectacular betas: CelticGrace & MissMeggo929
> 
> Hope you enjoy

One of the things Zaeed had done when he knew moving to Arcturus might turn into a permanent thing was purchase an apartment. He’d been staying with Lino while the place was renovated. He wanted Flint to have his own space in his own home.

_A real home._

Not a bunk in his little sister’s room, not a room at his coach’s house.

The renovations were mostly to combine two smaller rooms into a larger one for his son. Zaeed also wanted one of the spare rooms turned into an armory and work-out room.   He’d had the place decorated and painted in neutral tones, but left Flint’s room a blank slate mostly because he deserve a chance to make it his own.

It took several days for Flint to be released from the hospital. He was initially confused when Zaeed brought him to the new apartment. He stood hesitantly just inside the door trying to glance around without being obvious.

“Welcome home, son.”

“Home?”

Zaeed sat on one of the armchairs in the den and motioned for Flint to sit as well. “The family court granted me full custody.”

“Full…” He slouched down on the couch. “So no more mom?”

“She’s never putting a hand on you again,” Zaeed promised.

“’kay.” Flint fidgeted in his chair. “So…this is your house?”

“ _Our_ goddamn house.”

“’kay.”

“Let me show you.” Zaeed lead his son on a tour of the apartment leaving his own room for last. “I thought you might like to paint it together. You can pick out posters for your walls and everything else. Flint?”

His son was standing near one of the shelves on the wall which were filled with all of his trophies and ribbons. He reached up to grab one of them. “You kept ‘em all?”

“I made a bloody promise.” Zaeed found himself with an armful of fourteen year old. “I keep my goddamn promises.”

Pushing back from his dad looking a little sheepish, Flint hesitated before asking if he was still allowed to see Autumn.   Zaeed had no intentions of keeping his son from the little sister he loved so much. He knew it would important for the two kids to stay in touch. He promised Flint that when she left Arcturus, he could vid-comm with her whenever he wanted.

“Dad?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for coming to get me at the church.” Flint carefully inspected the rest of the room. He touched the gaming system set up across from the large bed. “Never had one of these.”

“I want you to be fourteen, Flint.” Zaeed knew it would be a little awkward between them at first. His son had gone through a fucking nightmare and it was likely he’d be affected for a very long time. “You should have the chance to be a bloody kid for once.”

He left Flint alone to settle in his room and to look through the books the decorator had left of paint colors. Dinner was a somewhat subdued affair. He’d been told by Lino and the doctors not to push the kid, not that he would’ve.

It was hard to get to sleep for both father and son. Zaeed tossed around for a while. He finally gave up when he heard banging coming from the direction of the living room.

Zaeed stepped into the kitchen at two in the morning to find Flint making a sandwich almost larger than his head. “What the hell is that monstrosity?”

"Uhm." Flint glanced down at the dripping mess on the plate. "I…uhm…an experiment?"

Zaeed shook with laughter partly at how ridiculous it was, but also to calm any fears of Flint’s that he was angry. “How are you going to eat it, son?”

"Dunno."

"Want help?" Zaeed decided it wouldn’t _kill_ him to try it…hopefully. How bad could one sandwich be?

"Wicked."

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bioware owns all sadly.
> 
> Kudos, Subscriptions and Bookmarks are a drug that I love to receive. Comments are chocolate, they make everything better. I am thankful for all of them.
> 
> Shout out to my spectacular betas: CelticGrace & MissMeggo929
> 
> Hope you enjoy

Waking up the morning of his sixteenth birthday, Flint wasn’t sure what to expect. His past birthdays hadn’t been all that amazing. The last one with his dad had been kinda quiet. His coach and even his dad usually tried to do something small for him, but nothing much happened at home usually, only sometimes if Shaun had been around. It was the first time he’d been with his dad for his whole birthday.

He didn’t want to get his hopes up too much.

“Get your ass up before I eat your breakfast.” Zaeed’s gruff shout echoed down the hall from the kitchen.

Flint raced out of his room with his sneakers in his hands. He skidded into the kitchen and stared in awe at the extra-large cheese burger pizza on the table. “Pizza.”

His dad guided him into a chair while Flint snatched a piece and immediately took a massive bite. “Slow down, son. It’s not going anywhere.”

Flint chewed a little more slowly, but not much. “Mmmm. Pizza.”

“I don’t need to see the goddamn digestion process,” Zaeed grimaced.

Flint grinned broadly. “Extra cheese and everything.”

“How would you feel about skipping school for the rest of the week?” His dad dodged the spray of food when Flint exclaimed his excitement loudly. “Will you close your goddamn mouth while you’re chewing? That’s absolutely disgusting.”

“Sorry.” Flint swallowed with a little difficult, choked down a gulp of juice then grinned at his dad. “Where are we going?”

“Mindoir. I thought you might want to see your little sister.” Zaeed laughed loudly when Flint inhaled the juice he’d been drinking. He reached out to tap him on the back a few times. “Is that a yes then?”

“ _Yes!”_

* * *

 

_From: Lino Ortiz_

_To: Zaeed Massani_

_Subj: Mindoir._

_It’s been all over the news._

_Are you two all right? What the hell is going on? I can’t get any of my Alliance contacts to tell me anything._

_Message me, you stubborn bastard._

_Lino_

* * *

 

It hadn’t been the best of birthdays on record for his son. Their planned trip to Mindoir ended abruptly when slavers arrived on the colony. Zaeed and Shaun lead Flint and Autumn far away from the colony. They bunkered down in the middle of one of the fields of tall grass. It was tall enough that crouched down they were well hidden.

The two men were armed, but nowhere near enough to fight slavers. _Fucking batarians._ Shaun had initially wanted to attempt to head back in to help his neighbhors, but Zaeed convinced it that it was a terrible idea. The colonists simply weren’t equipped to deal with a full on invasions by slavers.

It would be a massacre.

It _was_ a massacre.

It took two days for the Alliance to clear out the slavers. Everyone on the colony was dead or worse—much worse.   They were the only group of survivors, according to the Alliance captain who found them.

They were _all_ safe.

Zaeed caught his sixteen year old son making eyes at the Alliance officer and groaned inwardly. He didn’t want to have to deal with a ‘first crush’ when it was on someone close to his own damn age.   _Bloody hell._ His kid never would learn to do things by half.

“Flint…”

He tore his eyes away from the Alliance captain toward his father. “Yeah?”

“Don’t even bloody think about it. He’s way too damn old for you, not to mention it’s illegal and your sixteen, and a whole host of other fucking things I could think of.” Zaeed glared at the steely glint which appeared in his son’s eyes. “ _Flint._ ”

“Don’t care what you say.” Flint glanced back over at the man. “I’ll marry that man one day.”

“Marry? You’re sixteen, son.”

“So? I didn’t say it would be today, or next week,” Flint shrugged. “But I will, mark my words.”

Zaeed shook his head and didn’t say anything. He’d learned in the past two years it was never wise to argue with Flint. His son was as stubborn has his name implied. He also always seemed to know his mind. It was disturbing at times how quiet and yet prone to anger he could be.

“We have to head out now, the colony isn’t completely clear. The shuttle will take you to an Alliance cruiser which will get you on your way home to Arcturus.” The Captain gestured toward the shuttle behind him.   He glanced over at Flint and tossed a coin to him. “When you’re eighteen and can drink, use that coin in any Alliance bar and it’ll get you a free one.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

Zaeed raised an eyebrow at the man then over at his son who was staring down at the coin. “ _Goddamn it._ ”

“It was a pleasure meeting all of you.”

“Captain? You never did tell us your name.” Flint jogged forward when the man started to walk away.

“Steven Hackett.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bioware owns all sadly.
> 
> Kudos, Subscriptions and Bookmarks are a drug that I love to receive. Comments are chocolate, they make everything better. I am thankful for all of them.
> 
> Shout out to my spectacular betas: CelticGrace & MissMeggo929
> 
> Hope you enjoy

With his step-dad and sister now living on Arcturus after the massacre on Mindoir, Flint had greatly enjoyed his last two years at the Arcturus Academy. In less than two months, he would be graduating at the top of his class with top academic and sports honours. He already had scholarship offers to several of the best universities on earth.

Flint had turned all of them down. He loved to run, but didn’t want his whole life based around being on the track team. He didn’t want it to be his career choice. He instead opted for a route which didn’t really make anyone in his life happy.

He’d enlisted in the Alliance with a goal to pick up a degree of some sort while working his way into officer’s training and hopefully special forces. He hadn’t forgotten about Steven Hackett, had followed the man’s career as he was named Admiral not long after Mindoir. The coin was still one of his prized possessions.”

“So, big brother, still planning on getting all tattooed up for your birthday?” Autumn flopped down in a chair across from Flint at the library table, ignoring the glare from the librarian. “Seriously, I can’t believe your dad is actually letting you get a tattoo. Shaun would flip out if I asked for one.”

“That’s because you’re a little runt.” Flint focused on studying for the last of his tests. “And yes, I am still planning on getting a tattoo.”

“Jerk.” She stuck her tongue out at him. “So really…why and more importantly, what?”

Flint grabbed his datapad to flip over to the image he’d found of what he wanted. “Armor.”

“You’re getting your arms, chest and back tattooed in medieval armor?” Autumn’s expression told him how insane she thought he was. “Are you insane?”

“Not all at once, runt,” he scoffed. “I’m getting part of my left arm done today, and then if I handle the pain okay, I can slowly get the rest of it. It’s going to take maybe a year or two to finish the entire piece.”

“But why?”

“I never want to be without protection—ever again.” Flint frowned at her.

“ _Flint.”_

“Leave it.” He slammed his books into his backpack—an old rucksack of Zaeed’s that he’d pilfered ages ago and still clung to. “I gotta go.”

His temper was always an issue for him. Flint worked hard never to completely lose it, or take it out on Autumn. He’d picked up kickboxing and parkour to channel his energy. He had the speed and agility for parkour and had taken to it rather quickly. It was also something which might serve him well in the Alliance.

Deciding his anger was still simmering too high, Flint ran home instead of hopping on a shuttle. He was sweaty, stinky and out of breath when he barrelled into the living room forty minutes later.  Zaeed glanced up from his terminal at a desk in the corner of the room with a raised eyebrow.

“You stink worse than a goddamn varren. I can smell you all the way over here.” Zaeed immediately pointed down the hall toward his bedroom. “Shower. _Now_.”

“Don’t forget…”

“I won’t forget about taking you to get a goddamn tattoo. You’ve only mentioned it every bloody day this month and last.” Zaeed glared at him before pulling his shirt up to cover his nose. “Get your putrid arse in the shower and use extra soap.”

“Soap? I’m eighteen, not twelve. I know how to clean myself.” Flint dropped his bag on the armchair close to the front door.

“Good. Get your arse moving.”

“Dad?”

Zaeed’s eyes narrowed on him. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“That hasn’t worked the entire time I’ve known you.” Zaeed walked over to where he was standing to pull him into a hug. “Bloody hell you stink. So what’s the problem, and make it a good one because I’m subjecting myself to the stench for it. Lie if you have to.”

_“Dad.”_

Sitting on the arm of the couch, Flint explained his worries about his temper. He didn’t like how he went for being perfectly fine to pissed off over what should be nothing.   He didn’t want to feel like he was continuing to deal with everything left over from his mom and the things they saw on Mindoir. He didn’t want to feel _affected_ by it all.

“Son.” Zaeed sank down on the armchair across from him. He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and considered for a moment. “Your mother is a screwy bitch. She did a number on you. You’re not going to get over it immediately.”

“But…”

“Two things, very important so listen carefully, one you need to fucking shower and two, you’ve been amazingly resilient. You’re growing into an amazing man and I’m proud of you. I’ll be prouder when you don’t smell like the garbage.” Zaeed dodged the pillow Flint threw at him. “And you may have inherited the temper from your old man.”

“So it’s all your fault?” Flint grinned. He hopped off the armchair and rolled out of the way of the pillow Zaeed beamed at him. “Thanks.”

* * *

 

_From: Lino_

_To: Zaeed_

_Subj:re: Tattoos._

_I am aware today is the day. I’ll be there in time to watch him get stuck with a needle repeatedly. I think you’re both completely and totally insane. _

_How’s he doing?_

_Lino_

_P.S. Are you ever going to admit that you miss me when I’m not in your bed?_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The style of Flint's tattoo: http://pixelatrix.tumblr.com/post/103915921651


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bioware owns all sadly.
> 
> Kudos, Subscriptions and Bookmarks are a drug that I love to receive. Comments are chocolate, they make everything better. I am thankful for all of them.
> 
> Shout out to my spectacular betas: CelticGrace & MissMeggo929
> 
> Hope you enjoy

Two years after his graduation, Flint had his entire back, arms and chest fully tattooed in medieval armour. He’d had the tattoo artist design a Massani family crest to go over his heart as part of the ink, including in it a falling leaf, to represent his little sister Autumn. He’d wanted to honour both his dad and his sister, given their constant presence in his life.

His first years in the Alliance had gone by incredibly quickly. Flint took to military service like a Krogan to ryncol. He managed fairly quickly to impress his drill instructor with his drive to succeed. He managed to make it to Corporal not long out of boot camp. He was gunning for one of the few open spots on an elite infiltration unit which was part of one of the ground units attached to the Fifth fleet.

The real challenge for Flint had come from field duty and he loved it. He’d breezed through the academic part of his officer’s training. He flourished on missions, so much even Zaeed was forced to agree the Alliance had been the right choice for him. Autumn still thought he’d lost his damn mind.

Little sisters were like that.

_Silly runt._

She wasn’t quite a runt anymore. Unlike her brother, Autumn had accepted one of the many scholarship offers she’d received during her last year at the academy on Arcturus. She was now in her first year at a university in Boston. Shaun had moved to be closer to her.

Temporarily assigned to an Alliance outpost in a rural area an hour outside of Toronto, Flint hadn’t really seen much of either his sister or his dad. Zaeed spent most of his time off on bounties now, though he did make time for both his son _and_ Lino. He teased his dad about ‘making it official.’

He was currently waiting impatiently for acceptance into linguistics program which would be the last feather in his cap toward getting the spot on the infiltration team. It was within his reach, but still so far away. He tried to force himself to focus on the immediate goal and not on the far off one.

“Shepard.”

Flint glanced up from the online course work he’d been doing to find his CO standing in the doorway. “Sir?”

“Need someone to get supplies out to the Rehab Farm. You’re up.” He tossed him a datapad with the details. “Don’t take forever.”

“Yes, Sir.”

The Rehab Farm was a small rehabilitation working farm about twenty minutes outside of the Alliance compound. It was a home for former marines who were serving up the last of their time in the brig.   They dropped off supplies about once a month and today was apparently going to be his first time making the trip out there.

“Flint?”

He froze in the process of unloading the supply crates from the back of the shuttle at a familiar voice which he hadn’t heard in years. “Hannah.”

“You disrespectful little shit, think you’re grown don’t you? I’m still your mother.” Her shrill tone hadn’t changed much.

Flint set the crate in his arms down and rose slowly to his full height to glare over his shoulder down at her. “I’d rethink the next words out of your mouth, _Hannah_. I’m the one with the uniform now. You’re nothing but another disgraced former marine.”

Deciding not to indulge her or let her bait his temper further, Flint turned back to finish up. He caught movement out of the corner of his and instinctually sidestepped Hannah when she lunged for him. He caught her easily and sent her down into the dirt.

Holding the guards off with a shake of his head, Flint brought her arms behind her back to restrain her. He _wasn’t_ helpless anymore. Hannah spat curses at him while he simply waited for her to tire herself out a little.

“You’ll find I’m not a child. I’m all grown up.” Flint yanked her up to her feet and shoved her toward one of the guards. “Enjoy farming, mother.”

Flint held it together until in the relative privacy of the shuttle. He sealed the door then let out a pained roar before slamming his fist into the side shuttle. Hannah hadn’t exactly been a welcome sight for him.

_At all._

Heading back to the base, Flint found himself filled with chaotic energy. He made his way to the obstacle course at one end of the compound to run some of it out. He was standing, shirtless, by the fence drinking water when he spotted Admiral Hackett with his commanding officer. He thought the Admiral’s eyes flickered over to him a few times.

_Don’t screw it up, Flint._

Strolling casually over to the men, Flint arrived just as his CO was moving away. He stopped in front of the Admiral, took one look at the man’s blue eyes and lost his ability to speak coherent sentences. _Bloody hell_. He finally managed to ask Hackett if he was interested in going for drinks.

Hackett’s eyes strayed down the bare, tattooed muscular chest in front of him then up to Flint’s face. “You’re an attractive young man, son. But I’m not risking my career for a second lieutenant who is still green behind the ears.”

“I…”

“Perhaps, Shepard, you should give me a reason not to say no.” Hackett took one last look at him then began walking toward the nearby building. “Work on it, won’t you?”

 _“Admiral!”_ Flint waited until Hackett turned around with a bemused smile on his face. He flipped the coin the man had given him on Mindoir over to him. “You’re buying when I change your mind.”

* * *

 

_Inter-Relay Text Chat_

_Location: Omega_

_From: Zaeed Massani_

_To: Flint Shepard_

_Z: What happened to messaging me yesterday?_

_F: Busy._

_Z: Busy? Doing what? Military shit?_

_F: Dad._

_Z: Fine, fine. Ignore your old man._

_F: I saw Hannah._

_Z: Are you okay?_

_F: She’s…still…_

_Z: A goddamn bitch from hell?_

_F: Yeah._

_Z: So yesterday was a bad day?_

_F: Yep._

_Z: Do you want to talk about it?_

_F: Dad._

_Z: So that’s a no?_

_F: He turned me down._

_Z: Who?_

_F: Hackett_

_Z: You’re a twenty year old punk; of course he turned you down._

_F: Thanks._

_Z: Look, son, I love you very much. But you’re fucking twenty and you’re barely a year and a half out of bootcamp. Even if Hackett is interested, he’s going to need more enticement than…I’m not fucking talking about this with my son. I’m going to make myself sick._

_F: DAD._

_Z: The goddamn bastard is practically my age, if not older._

_F: And?_

_Z: Ah fuck it, not like you ever listen to me anyway._

_F: You are the picture of helpful._

_Z: Punk._

_F: I love you too. Gotta go, dad._

_User has disconnected._


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bioware owns all sadly.
> 
> Kudos, Subscriptions and Bookmarks are a drug that I love to receive. Comments are chocolate, they make everything better. I am thankful for all of them.
> 
> Shout out to my spectacular betas: CelticGrace & MissMeggo929
> 
> Hope you enjoy

Six months post his _heroics_ on Elysium; Flint had completed his first N-school test with flying colours. He’d been assigned back to his unit for an undercover operation. The brass had informed him that if this op went successfully, they’d consider it a successful testing for his N2 through N4 courses. He’d said _yes_ immediately _then_ he realized the implications for how dangerous the mission must be.

It was Flint’s job to infiltrate a new mercenary group which had formed on colony near the Terminus system, had taken over the colony and was now making life hell for anyone who attempted to come into the system. The Alliance was wary of creating a massacre by attempting a full scale assault on the mercs.   They had no idea if the colonists were hostages or colluding with the group.

They needed more information.

So Flint was _kicked out_ of the Alliance for brawling in a bar with seven other marines. He spent over six months living on the streets, scrounging around and getting into trouble. They were starting to think it wasn’t going to work until he finally ran into the brother-in-law of the man in charge of the group. He helped him get out of a staged fight with a few Alliance marines

Another six months went by, Flint wasn’t entirely certain his dad was going to recognize him the next time he saw him.   His hair had grown out long enough to require being tied back and his beard was overgrown and out of control. He looked ragged, tired and dangerous.

He fit _right_ in with the mercs.

He spent two months gathering data until there was enough to make a first drop off to his contact. It didn’t quite go as planned unfortunately. He’d had to think quickly on his feet and get himself arrested when his _partner_ from the group refused to leave him for a second. It was the reason he was currently stretched out on a concrete bench in the brig staring up at the ceiling.

“You’ve looked better.”

Flint tilted his head to the side to find Admiral Steven Hackett stepping into his cell. “I prefer to think of it as an experiment in facial hair.”

“The info was good.” Hackett ignored his comment. “It was more than we expected.”

“But?” Flint pulled himself up into a seated position and stared tiredly up at the Admiral. “It’s not enough, is it?”

“No.” Hackett sat on the bench across from Flint’s. “What do you know about Vido Santiago?”

“Who?” Flint raised an eyebrow curiously at the intensity in the man’s question. “No clue who he is, but I get the feeling you think I should…or do know something about him.”

“He’s the leader of the Blue Suns.” Hackett waited for a reaction, but seemed surprised by Flint’s lack of one. “The other founder of the group was Zaeed Massani.”

Flint’s jaw dropped briefly then he snapped his mouth shut so hard his teeth vibrated. His eyes hardened as he realized the ramifications of the line of questions. “Are you questioning my loyalty to the Alliance, _sir_?”

“Easy, Lieutenant.”

“Don’t fucking tell me to calm down, Admiral. Is this an interrogation?” Flint gripped both his hands around the edge of the bench to keep from launching himself at the man. “I’ve been working my ass off undercover for almost a year, risking my life and you come in here…ask your questions.”

“ _Lieutenant.”_

“Sir?” Flint found his biotics starting to flare and he closed his eyes to force himself to take a few deep breathes to calm down. “My father is a bounty hunter. I have no idea what he did before he was a bounty hunter. This is the first I’ve heard of Vido Santiago.”

“Well, shit.” Hackett scratched the stubble on his jaw. “I was hoping you could provide more intel on the man, not have to fill you in on info on your old man instead.”

“Welcome to the Alliance, _sir.”_

“Can the sarcasm, Lieutenant.” Hackett frowned at him, but the slight twitch of his lips told Flint he’d amused him.

* * *

 

_From: Zaeed_

_To: Lino_

_Subj: re: Flint._

_Still haven’t heard a thing from him._

_What the fuck is going on?_

_I’ve got a bounty for this new merc group, have to pick up one of them. I’ll be back on Arcturus in a few days. Then I’m demanding answers on where the fuck my son is._

_And no, I don’t miss you._

_Maybe, a little. Goddamn bastard._

_Zaeed_

* * *

 

The bounty the spectre had handed off to Zaeed hadn’t been incredibly _specific_ on which member of the nameless merc group that the council wanted. They were apparently concerned about the Blue Suns merging with this new group. The mercenaries had started branching outside of Alliance space.   The spectre wanted someone to interrogate.

But the Council didn’t want to risk any potential issues with the Alliance. It would be easier for a human bounty hunter to grab a human mercenary than have the spectres cause an inter-species incident. Zaeed didn’t give a damn as long as he got paid.

He refused to acknowledge it was also a much needed distraction from his concern over Flint’s prolonged silence. It wasn’t like his son to be so goddamn quiet. He shoved the worry aside and focused on the two armoured mercs who he’d been following around a small colony a few hours from Arcturus all morning.

It was _too_ easy to grab the taller of the two mercenaries when the man stepped away on his own. Zaeed was beyond confused by the lack of struggle. He’d never had a bounty who didn’t fight tooth and nail to escape.

They were at the door of the shuttle when the man turned toward him.

“Bit unremarkably as far as captures go. Should I run? Make it more believable?” His voice was muffled by the helmet, but Zaeed could’ve sworn he knew him.

“Get your arse in the shuttle. _Stupid bastard._ ”

“Hardly. I’ve always been able to run faster than you.” He tilted his head to the side and Zaeed had the distinct feeling he was being mocked. “Should I run? I’ll come back eventually, after you collapse from exhaustion.”

“Can you run with a goddamn bullet in your leg?” Zaeed raised his rifle for emphasis. “Get in the fucking shuttle.”

“Sure I shouldn’t run?”

“What the hell is wrong with you? I’m a bounty hunter with a goddamn rifle pointed at you.” Zaeed shoved the obnoxious mercenary into the shuttle.

“Grumpy, grumpy. Are you missing Lino or something?”

“Am I…” Zaeed tossed his rifle down and reached up to yank the helmet off of the man’s head. He blinked in shock at his incredibly shaggy-haired son. “Where the hell have you been? And what the goddamn hell is wrong with your hair?”

“It’s long?” Flint shrugged ambivalently. “And when the hell were you planning on telling me you were one of the founding members of the Blue Suns? Or that Vido Santiago’s the bastard who shot you in the face? Huh? How about that? I had to be fucking ambushed with that bit of information by Admiral Hackett, as if it isn’t awkward enough around him.”

“I’m always happy to make it awkward for you to seduce a man who’s my goddamn age.” Zaeed shot back at his son who grinned at him in response. “What are you doing?”

“Undercover for the Alliance, which I suppose is blown now. What are you doing?” Flint sank down onto one of the shuttle seats and pulled up his omni-tool.

“Undercover? And you didn’t bother to tell me? I’ve been worried.” Zaeed grumbled at him. “You missed my goddamn birthday.”

“Your birthday?” Flint snorted. “You hate celebrating your birthday.”

“Missed yours as well.”

“Are you pouting about missing my birthday?” Flint grinned at him and even with the abundance of facial hair, Zaeed was struck by the fact that it was his own bloody smile mirrored in his son’s face. “Dad? Look, I’m sorry about not telling you, but fuck, I’m not sixteen anymore. I’m a…”

“ _Idiot._ ”

“What?” Flint blinked at him in confusion before running his hand through his uncontrolled long hair. “I haven’t screwed the Admiral if that’s what has you out of sorts.”

“ _Flint._ ”

“Hmm?” He stretched his long legs out across shuttle almost touching the other side. “What’s the issue?”

“I have a goddamn bounty from the spectres to bring one of the mercs in. You know about Vido Santiago, and I’d prefer you not be on his goddamn radar.” Zaeed frowned as the implications of the bastard knowing he had a son. He’d certainly become a target. _Shit._ “Your undercover mission has to end _now_.”

Flint raised an eyebrow at him. “I’m sure the Alliance will take your opinion into consideration.”

“ _Flint._ ”

“I’ll be sure to tell Admiral Hackett that my dad thinks I can’t do my job.” Flint rolled his eyes at his father and huffed at him when Zaeed kicked his leg in return. “Ow.”

“Don’t goddamn worry me like that again.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Flint waved his hand casually and tilted his head to rest it against the back of the seat as he slouched further down. “Think Hackett will ever say yes?”

“Flint…” He trailed off at the despondent look in his son’s eyes. _Goddamn it._ “I have no fucking clue, son, but he’s missing out if he doesn’t.”

“That was almost nice.”

“You are an obnoxious punk.”

“I take after my father.” Flint didn’t even flinch when Zaeed kicked his shins again. “What? I do.”

_“Punk.”_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Flint's hair in this chapter: http://pixelatrix.tumblr.com/post/104774510271/7-number-ben-dahlhaus


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bioware owns all sadly.
> 
> Kudos, Subscriptions and Bookmarks are a drug that I love to receive. Comments are chocolate, they make everything better. I am thankful for all of them.
> 
> Shout out to my spectacular betas: CelticGrace & MissMeggo929
> 
> Hope you enjoy

After the long debrief in which Hackett seemed to stare at his beard but refused to speak to him, Flint finally made his way back to his dad’s Arcturus apartment and collapsed face forward on the bed in his old room. He ignored his dad who was laughing at him and Lino’s concerned inquiry. They were worse than a pair of old women, not that Flint had any experience with women who cared. His mother certainly hadn’t.

Dragging himself out of the bedroom into this bathroom, Flint stared at his scraggly appearance. He certainly wasn’t going to make a good impression if Hackett saw him looking like this for a third time. He hopped into the shower, changed into jeans and a hoodie before heading out to find a barber. He needed a little confidence boost before facing another rejection.

“Good luck.” Lino winked at him when he walked through the living room.

“Don’t encourage him, goddamn it.” Zaeed snapped at the man before turning toward Flint. “Going somewhere?”

Flint dragged a hand through his long hair. “Time for a trim.”

“Shave the bloody mane off and be done with it.” His dad grinned unrepentantly at him.

“Helpful, Dad, very helpful.” Flint ignored the laughing Zaeed and left the apartment.

It took an impressive long time for the barber to trim Flint’s hair back down to the normal short buzzcut he (and the Alliance) preferred and shave his beard completely off.  He stood in the barbershop bathroom and stared at himself in the mirror. It felt as if he hadn’t seen his own face for over a year.

He was almost twenty-four now. He wondered briefly if it was old enough for Hackett to take him seriously and give him a chance—probably not. Not after his _father_ had picked him on a bounty and essentially ruined an entire year of undercover work.  

The debrief hadn’t actually mentioned what would happen next, so Flint could only assume his work had been for nothing. He wondered the deal they’d promised still counted or if he’d have to go through N2 – N4 like everyone else. It was frustrating in the extreme.

And impossible to be angry with his dad.

_Damn it._

_What a waste_.

An hour later, Flint sat at one of the dive bars on Arcturus. It was usually frequented by the mechanics and dock workers who worked at the skydock. He slumped on the stool and stared moodily at the half-empty glass in front of him. He could hear Lino in his head telling him to sit up straight.

 _“You are an idiot,”_ he muttered to himself. He ignored the bartender’s concerned frown when he drank the rest of beer and slammed the glass onto the counter.

“Buy you a drink, marine?”

Flint stared blankly at the coin that had been tossed onto the counter next to his hand. He didn’t really want to embarrass himself further by turning to gape stupidly up at Hackett. “Slumming with the grunts, Admiral?”

“It took me an hour to track you down.” Hackett gestured toward his head. “You seem to have lost something.”

“About the undercov…” Flint trailed off when Hackett shook his head. “Sorry, Sir.”

“Why?” Hackett ordered a beer for himself and a second for Flint then sat on the barstool next to his. “You did your job. We have everything we need to rescue the colonists.”

“I…what?” Flint stammered in confusion. He closed his eyes and forced himself to breathe, honestly, he wasn’t fucking sixteen anymore. “Good.”

He was an idiot. Autumn was going to laugh her ass off when he told her about this. He’d never given up on getting to have at least drinks with the Admiral, and now he was acting every bit of the _impressionable_ youth that he didn’t want Hackett to see him as.

_Get a grip._

“Perhaps another time? When you’re actually ready…”

“Don’t fucking mock me, damn it,” Flint snapped. He groaned in embarrassment a second later and bent forward to knock his head into the top of the bar. “Don’t stop me until I’ve concussed myself into forgetting this ever happened.”

Hackett reached around to block his next attempt to bludgeon himself into unconsciousness with his hand. He chuckled when Flint growled at him. “Are you always this tightly wound?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I see I have something to work on.” Hackett gripped Flint by the shoulders to drag him away through the bar. “How about I take you out for dinner?”

“Admiral?” Flint tried for cool and collected, but felt more flushed than Autumn had been when he’d asked her about her new boyfriend. _Damn._

“Steven,” he corrected. His hand still had a firm hold of Flint as he guided him toward a nearby skycar terminal. “Outside of the confines of our ‘professional’ interactions, it might help us both if you called me by name.”

“Fat chance,” Flint muttered. He never considered when he was sixteen and decided Hackett was his, how incredibly lacking in sophistication his adult self would be. _Shit._

* * *

 

_From: Autumn_

_To: Flint_

_Subj: Don’t Get Mad._

_Mom was released a few months ago while you were undercover, so I couldn’t tell you then ‘cause it would’ve been distracting, but I’ve been meeting with her once a week. She lives close to my university._

_I just need to do it for me. She’s still our mom._

_Can you understand? Don’t you miss her too?_

_It wasn’t all bad at home before…you know._

_Autumn_

* * *

 

There was one thing Hackett knew for certain as he sat at a restaurant across from Flint. The message that the man had been reading on his omni-tool had set off his barely controlled temper. The younger man sat seething while typing then deleting some sort of response. He finally closed it without replying and huffed with disgust.

“Something wrong?” Hackett watched Flint while he attempted to regain control of himself—so far unsuccessfully.

“You’ve read my file, Admiral…Steven. Hannah Shepard was dishonourably discharged for a reason. I have no doubts before you decided to put me on that undercover mission you fully acquainted yourself with my tragic little story.” Flint snapped bitterly though Hackett wasn’t certain the anger was really directed at him. “Whatever is in that file, the reality was much worse.”

“It usually is.” Hackett stretched his arm across the table and covered one of Flint’s tightly clenched fists with his hand. “Is this why you armored your skin? So she can’t hurt you anymore?”

There was a flash of confusion in Flint’s eyes before they hardened and narrowed on Hackett. He’d never seen the young man look quite so intense. He waved off the server when he came over to ask about their order. Food clearly wasn’t on either of their minds.

Flint’s fist tightened to the point that Hackett was worried he was going to break something. “My sister has decided to attempt…”

Deciding it was time for action; Hackett quickly paid for their uneaten meal and took Flint by the arm to lead him out of yet again. He took him across the station to the one place which always brought him peace—his private garden. It was a place he’d never invited anyone else.

It had originally been the office in his quarters, but Hackett had slowly worked to turn it into something of a reflection garden. There was a water fountain in the far corner surrounded by a few potted plants. It was directly across from a worn, comfortable beige couch which he’d slept on a number of times after stressful days. The other side of the room held something he thought would help Flint immensely—a punching bag.

“Go at it.” Hackett motioned toward the bag then eased down onto the couch. He frowned when Flint simply stood there staring at it. “Flint? It won’t bite.”

“Shit.”

It shouldn’t have been quite so arousing to watch the man flush, but Hackett found himself needed to shift on the couch slightly to adjust his trousers.   Flint had always struck him as quiet, confident and full of tightly bound rage. He’d never been _shy_ before now.

_Very, very intriguing._

He wondered idly how easy it would be to make the man blush…again. “Punch the bag. It will help, Flint.”

“I know how to use the damn thing.” Flint rubbed his forehead a few times before collapsing on the couch next to Hackett. “This isn’t how I hoped a first date with you would go.”

“Hmm.” Hackett brushed his knuckles along Flint’s arm. “Expectations can kill a spark of desire before it even starts a fire.”

“Fire bad.” Flint grinned at him then shoved himself up off the catch and moved purposefully over to the punching bag. “Fire consumes.”

“And?”

Flint lifted his hand to show the glow of his biotics. He sent a sphere of biotic energy over to Hackett. “Now this, this doesn’t consume or burn, but it is powerful.”

Hackett found himself pinned to the couch with a vibrating sensation tingling along his entire body and he wasn’t even able to adjust himself in his boxers. “I stand corrected.”

Flint took a few swipes at the punching bag then glanced over his shoulder with an assessing look in his eyes. “You’re not standing at all actually.”

“I wouldn’t say that entirely.” Hackett chuckled when Flint turned away. “I do believe this is going to be a lot of fun for the both of us.”


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bioware owns all sadly.
> 
> Kudos, Subscriptions and Bookmarks are a drug that I love to receive. Comments are chocolate, they make everything better. I am thankful for all of them.
> 
> Shout out to my spectacular betas: CelticGrace & MissMeggo929
> 
> Hope you enjoy

_From: Autumn_

_To: Flint_

_Subj: re: Mom._

_Are you really just going to avoid talking about it?_

_C’mon. Talk to me._

_Please?_

_How can I be your annoying little sister if you don’t talk to me? What’s the big deal? You’re all grown up and mom went to jail. Shouldn’t we give her another chance?_

_Autumn_

* * *

 

_From: Flint_

_To: Autumn_

_Subj: re: Mom._

_I know you think she deserves a chance, but she really doesn’t._

_I love you, runt. You really need to stop pushing me on this. I don’t need a relationship with her and I really think you should be more careful._

_Flint_

* * *

 

“So where the hell were you the other night?” Zaeed waltzed into his son’s room without knocking.

“I _really_ need to get my own apartment.” Flint covered his face with a pillow only to have his dad yank it off. “What do you want?”

“Last night?”

“I was busy.”

“Busy?”

“Go. Away.” Flint shot to his feet and grabbed a somewhat clean shirt from the floor. He’d fallen asleep in jeans so he pulled the shirt on and began looking for socks. “I’m going to run.”

“You haven’t even had breakfast.” Zaeed followed him down the hall toward the living room after he’d finished dressing.. “What _exactly_ are you hiding from your old man?”

“Nothing.” Flint grinned at his dad. “Just like you aren’t hiding the fact that Lino slept over last night.”

“He…”

“You’re _very_ loud.” Flint grimaced at the memory. “I’m going apartment hunting after I run. I think we _both_ need some damn privacy, because that’s just…no.”

Grabbing a leftover slice of pizza from the fridge and a bottle of juice, Flint raced out the door to avoid his dad finding out about Hackett. He headed to the Alliance housing office to put in a request for quarters in the single officers apartment section of Arcturus with that done he decided it was time to get a workout at the gym.

Since he always kept a spare set of clothes in the locker, Flint changed into his running shorts and sneakers then headed over to the course he used for free running. It didn’t take long for Flint to lose himself in the course. It was deserted at this point so he didn’t have to worry about anyone getting in his way.

* * *

 

_From: Shaun Shepard_

_To: Zaeed Massani_

_Subj: Flint._

_I don’t know if Flint told you, but Hannah’s out of the work farm. Against my wishes, Autumn’s been in contact with her mother. She’s also been attempting to reconcile her brother with her mother._

_I thought you might want to know._

_Shaun_

* * *

 

Waking up to a sticky mess was _not_ Hackett’s idea of a good morning. The dream had certainly been pleasant and focused entirely on Flint. He sat up with a grimace at the realization that this had been his first wet dream in _years_ —so many he couldn’t remember the last one.

Two hours into his day, Hackett had a feeling his yeoman was on the verge of going AWOL.   The idea that a young lieutenant had gotten so under his skin it was affecting his dreams hadn’t done much for his mood. He decided it was time to do something about it when he snapped at his yeoman for the fourth time in an hour.

It took a while to track down Flint. Hackett finally found him in one of the indoor obstacle courses the Alliance had set up on Arcturus. He hovered in the shadows watching the man as he ran through the course.

Over the years, Hackett had watched many marines go through similar courses. He’d never seen anyone with the elegance of Flint. It was more like an elegant dance, or watching an animal in the wild. It was mesmerizing—Flint was mesmerizing.

Crossing his arms, Hackett leaned against the nearby wall to wait for Flint to finish. It wasn’t long before the launched himself over a barrier and landed a few inches from the Admiral. He was sweaty, shirtless and magnificent.

Hackett found his eyes drawn to a single drop of sweat as it made a path down Flint’s neck. “Lieutenant.”

“ _Admiral_.” Flint ran his forearm across his brow and took a few more deep breaths. “Are you lost?”

“Fleet Admirals do not get lost.” Hackett stepped forward and held back a smile when Flint’s breath seemed to catch in his throat. He reached out to trace the track of sweat down Flint’s chest with his finger. “You should go shower so I can take you out for coffee.”

“Was that an invitation?”

“Admirals don’t do that either.” Hackett let his fingers follow the lines of the armor tattooed on Flint’s upper body. He could feel the tension in the man as he was clearly forcing himself not to react to the gentle caress. “I’m waiting.”

“You could wait in the shower with me. I’m sure you’ll like the view.” Flint didn’t sound as steady as he looked when he stepped back from Hackett. “You have so far.”

Hackett wasn’t about to let him have the upper hand so he caught Flint’s wrist and dragged him over to him. He brought his other hand up to catch the younger man by the jaw to ease him down until their lips met. His tongue teased Flint’s barely parted lips then he released him.

“I…” Flint licked his bottom lip then seemed to recall where they were. “So shower, I’ll just go shower now, yeah. Shower.”

 

 


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bioware owns all sadly.
> 
> Kudos, Subscriptions and Bookmarks are a drug that I love to receive. Comments are chocolate, they make everything better. I am thankful for all of them.
> 
> Shout out to my spectacular betas: CelticGrace & MissMeggo929
> 
> Hope you enjoy

The coffee date with Hackett had left Flint with mixed feelings. He’d enjoyed the time with the man right up until the point that Flint dumped his iced coffee into his own lap. He found it almost impossible to meet the Admiral’s eyes for the rest of their date with a damp spot on the front of his jeans.

It was two days later and the embarrassment of it still rankled. Flint wanted to show Hackett that he was a _man_ , not a fumbling, hormonal teenager. He had definitely failed miserably at his first attempt.

_Damn it._

“You planning to eat your breakfast or glare at it until it surrenders?” Lino glanced over from the stove where he was making an omelet for himself to where Flint sat at the kitchen island staring morosely down at his plate. “You all right, kid?”

“I’m so very screwed, Coach.” Flint ate his omelet in three bites ignoring the disgusted grimace on Lino’s face. “How do I translate my confidence in running into attempting to date?”

“Don’t answer that goddamn question,” Zaeed said gruffly. He collapsed back on the couch and started snoring a second later.

Lino exchanged a smile with Flint. “Trouble with the Admiral?”

“Humiliation. Utterly and totally.”

“You just need to relax, son.”

“Easy for you to say,” Flint scoffed.

“The man asked you out for coffee…”

“Which I dumped into my own lap.” He groaned in embarrassment at the memory.

“Minor issue.” Lino’s lips twitched tellingly though.

“Laugh it up, Coach.” Flint flicked a leftover piece of toast at him.

“You’re my goddamn kid. There’s got to be some smooth talking in you somewhere.” Zaeed stumbled groggily into the kitchen, scratching his side while his other shot out to drag Lino over for a kiss. “Just kiss the bastard.”

“Very helpful , Dad.”

“I’m here for you.” Zaeed smirked at his son. “Don’t say I never gave you any goddamn advice.”

* * *

 

_From: Autumn Shepard_

_To: Flint Shepard_

_Subj: re: Mom._

_Are you still ignoring this?_

_C’mon. It’s my birthday. I’m just asking for you to try to talk to her._

_Please?_

_Autumn_

* * *

 

Sitting in confused and angry silence in his room, Flint was completely stuck between wanting to make his sister happy and his desire _never_ to deal with Hannah again. He adored Autumn, still felt protective over her. Hannah, on the other hand, had no place in his life—never would.

He wished Autumn would stop trying to bring them together. It was _never_ going to happen. He had yet to figure out how to get his point across without completely alienating his sister.

Autumn had been too young to fully comprehend the level of abuse Flint suffered. Her experience with her mother was a polar opposite to her brother’s in any case. Time had likely helped her to forget as well.

“Flint?”

He glanced up to find Lino by the door. “Thought you were moving into your new quarters?”

“Yeah.”

“You okay?”

“Autumn.”

“She doesn’t usually invoke such a morose look from her big brother.” Lino stepped into the room and joined him on the floor. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“She wants me to meet with her and Hannah.” Flint lowered his voice to avoid his dad hearing him and the inevitable flip out it would cause. “A birthday present of sorts.”

“Say no.”

“Lino.”

“Say _no_.”

“I hadn’t planned on saying yes. I’m not a goddamn idiot.” Flint shot to his feet and stormed out of the apartment. He needed to walk and think. “ _Damn it.”_

* * *

 

_From: Flint Shepard_

_To: Autumn Shepard_

_Subj: re: Mom._

_You have to know my answer is going to be no, right?_

_I’ve seen Hannah once since she was taking to jail. Once was more than enough for me._

_Flint_

* * *

 

Admiral Steve Hackett was at his desk reading through the marine files in preparation for putting together a new infiltration unit to put under Team Delta when a familiar man stormed into his office. “Massani.”

“Are you toying with my goddamn son?” Massani pulled a knife out from his boot and began flipping it in his hand. “He’s an amazing man who has been kicked in the fucking teeth by life too goddamn much. He’s a grown man, but he’s still my only son.”

“Your point? And is that really necessary?” Hackett waved toward the knife. “I earned my rank the hard way, Massani. A merc thug with a knife isn’t likely to strike terror into my heart.”

“I don’t goddamn like you. I never will. You’re not good enough for him and you’re my goddamn age.” Zaeed tossed the knife at an angle and it embedded into Hackett’s desk.

“Remove the knife before I remove you from Arcturus.” Hackett leaned back with an air of complete calm. He had no intentions of being pushed around by a bounty hunter. “Flint has been pursuing me for years. I doubt he’s even aware that I’ve known of his intentions for as long as I have. I respect him.”

“Are you fucking toying with him?”

“I don’t believe that’s any of your business.” Hackett lifted up one of the files and went back to reading.

It was all the dismissal he intended to give Massani.

 


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bioware owns all sadly.
> 
> Kudos, Subscriptions and Bookmarks are a drug that I love to receive. Comments are chocolate, they make everything better. I am thankful for all of them.
> 
> Shout out to my spectacular betas: CelticGrace & MissMeggo929
> 
> Hope you enjoy

The issue of his mother faded into the background as Flint focused on the last of his N-levels tests. He somehow managed to avoid seeing his family and Hackett as well. He wanted a better handle on himself before seeing the Admiral.

_And his dad and Lino smirking at him all the time wouldn’t help._

_He had to be cooler._

_Suave even._

So naturally, the first time Flint saw Hackett after his N7 graduation was at a restaurant where he managed to yet again humiliate himself.   He was joking around with the rest of his N7 class when he upended his plate of spaghetti into his lap. He glanced up from the red sauce dripping down the front of his t-shirt to find the Admiral walking toward the table.

Getting to his feet quickly, Flint left his fellow N7 graduates at the table to laugh uproariously at his humiliation. He made his way through the restaurant’s kitchens and out a back door where he leaned against the wall to lament the epic disaster of his life.   It was clear that nothing would ever happen with Hackett.

Why the hell would a man like that want to be with someone who turned into a klutz whenever the man walked into the room?

“I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t run from me.” Hackett stepped out of the restaurant and moved in front of Flint. He moved confidently forward until their boots touched. His hands came up to rest on the wall behind Flint on either side of his shoulders.   The Admiral learned toward him and licked a stray bit of sauce from just under Flint’s lip. “I seem to have quite the impact on your nerves. I wonder…”

Flint cleared his throat and tried not to draw attention to the reason his jeans were feeling tight. “You wonder?”

Hackett caught his Flint’s jaw with his hand when he tried to glance to the side. “I wonder how hard it would be to make you lose your composure completely.”

“I dumped coffee in my lap and now spaghetti. I’m not sure there’s anything left for me to lose.” Flint closed his eyes and silently prayed for the ground to swallow him up whole.

Hackett raised an eyebrow while seeming to look Flint over from head to toe. “You need a clean shirt.”

Flint stumbled slightly when Hackett grabbed him firmly by the shoulder to drag him forward. “A shirt?”

Digging his heels in and stopping their forward movement, Flint reached over to grab the hand on his shoulder. He pulled it away and held it tightly while forcing himself to meet Hackett’s gaze. The Admiral stood patiently waiting for him to do whatever it was he intended.

“I’m not a love struck teenager anymore, _Steven._ ” Flint summoned his courage and released Hackett’s hand only to then grab the man by his shirt to guide him into a kiss. He leaned back and grimaced at himself. “This would be much more impressive if I didn’t have spaghetti smeared on my shirt.”

Hackett caught his arm before he could dart away. “Oh no, Flint, no, you’re not running away to hide from me for another few weeks.”

* * *

 

_From: Autumn_

_To: Dad_

_Subj: Flint._

_Why won’t he at least try talking to mom? I took your advice and left him alone about it for a bit, but he doesn’t even message me now._

_It’s not fair._

_I just want him to try._

_Autumn_

* * *

 

The walk to Hackett’s quarters was a quiet one. He watched the younger man beside of him with a careful eye. The single kiss had apparently taken all of Flint’s impulsiveness for at least the next little while. He wondered idly how many times he could cause Flint to flush and not with anger for once.

“Worried you won’t be able to walk and talk?” Hackett broke the silence with an amused chuckle.

“ _No._ ” Flint snapped at him then flushed. “Damn it.”

“Something wrong?” Hackett strolled casually beside him.

Flint stopped in the middle of the hallway that led to Hackett’s quarters. “I’m not entirely certain I have a humiliation kink, _Admiral_.”

Hackett was taken so by surprise that he stood and stared at Flint for a good minute before responding. He had Flint up against the wall in a second with his fingers gripping the front of his messed up t-shirt. “Do you even know what kinks you have, Flint?”

“I…”

Hackett smiled when he felt the bulge in Flint’s jeans rub against his thigh. “Why don’t you step into my quarters?”

Flint’s lips twitched and then the man snorted _loudly._ “You can’t possibly find my fumbling…”

Resting his hand on the center of Flint’s chest, Hackett let his fingers drift down until he could tuck them into the top of the man’s jeans. He tugged him forward until their covered cocks slid across each other. His fingers held tight while Hackett walked Flint backwards into his living room.

“I find your fumbling and everything else about you to be _perfection_.” Hackett had an iron-grip on Flint. “I want to watch you run your obstacle course naked.”

“Excuse me?” Flint blinked at him a few times.

“I’m a fleet admiral. I can ensure no one other than myself is watching.” Hackett dipped his fingers in deeper until they grazed Flint’s shaft. “You’re most comfortable when you’re running. I’ve watched you numerous times.”

“I can’t…” Flint choked off the last word when Hackett wrapped his hand around him and stroked once. “ _Shit.”_

 


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bioware owns all sadly.
> 
> Kudos, Subscriptions and Bookmarks are a drug that I love to receive. Comments are chocolate, they make everything better. I am thankful for all of them.
> 
> Shout out to my spectacular betas: CelticGrace & MissMeggo929
> 
> Hope you enjoy

Flint Shepard was magnificent.

It was the only conclusion Hackett could come to after watching him practice parkour in the nude for almost an hour. The way his muscles moved with a seemingly infinite amount of power and grace. It was pure raw need that went through the Admiral.

Never one to let an opportunity escape him, Hackett fully intended to make Flint his. _Completely. His._ He just wasn’t certain the man was ready for it. He was reminded of a startled colt quite frequently whenever he got close to Flint.

The file on Flint hadn’t gone into much detail about his childhood—not as much as Flint seemed to think it did. Hackett hadn’t been on Arcutrus at the time either so he had no first-hand knowledge. It had taken digging into Hannah’s file and history to find out anything important.

Horrified was probably the best word to describe what he felt at the trauma Flint went through. Hackett wasn’t really surprised the man felt so out of his depth.   It occurred to him that perhaps Flint had no idea what it felt like to be not only treasured, but deemed worthy.

A mother like Hannah would’ve constantly enforced a message of worthless.   Hackett had a feeling his work was cut out for him with Flint. It wasn’t going to be simple.

“Thinking lofty thoughts?” Flint sank down on the top of an obstacle not far from Hackett breathing heavily and wiping sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. “I don’t trip when I run.”

Hackett watched Flint in silence for a few minutes. “Is running how you escaped as a kid? Cleared your mind?”

Flint’s hands clenched until his knuckles whitened. He forced a harsh breath through his lips before answering. “Yes.”

“You don’t do casual relationships, do you?” Hackett watched while Flint attempted to keep his temper from flaring. “What I can’t understand is why you haven’t had a serious relationship up to this point. I have a theory though. Would you like to hear it?”

“Yes.” Flint caught the water bottle Hackett tossed to him and drank it without bothering to take a breath.

“Thirsty?”

“Yes.”

“You really do have a temper on you.” Hackett chuckled when Flint’s eyes glittered in response. “How long have you wanted me?”

“I…”

“Since Mindoir?” Hackett smiled at the faintest of flushes creeping up Flint’s neck. “Come here.”

“Steven?”

Hackett shook his head and motioned for Flint to come closer. “Haven’t you waited long enough? _Come. Here.”_

Flint set the water of bottle down and walked hesitantly over to Hackett. “You’re aware that I’m not some innocent virgin, right?”

“You blush like one,” Hackett teased.

“I can always leave.” Flint’s hands were once again clenched at his side.

“You might want to dress first.” Hackett reached out to trail his fingers up one of Flint’s muscular thighs. He lightly tugged on one of the hairs before drift over to brush against the man’s cock. He repeated the touch until Flint was hard and leaning forward into the caress. “Good luck making it back to your quarters.”

“Are you serious? You can’t just…” Flint started to move back which Hackett refused to allow so he tightened his fingers around his cock. He dragged his thumb across the head of it. “What…I…”

“Having trouble there?”

Before Flint could let loose with his temper, Hackett sank to his knees in front of him and ran his tongue over the tip of his cock. It had been slow torture watching the nude perfection of Flint’s body move across the room. He’d had enough of just _observing._

“What the hell are you doing to me?” Flint muttered.

Hackett canted his head to the side to look up at flint with his fingers light stroking him. “Making you mine.”

Deciding Flint shouldn’t _need_ to respond to that, Hackett gave one last _barely there_ lick then took his cock into his into his mouth and sucked _hard._ The reaction from the man was as gratifying as he hoped it would be. Flint’s knees buckled slightly and his hand gripped onto the Admiral’s shoulder for support.

There were flaws to Hackett’s character that he could readily admit to if pressed on the matter. He enjoyed being in control. He also enjoyed the exquisite pleasure of keeping a partner on the precipice of orgasm.

It would heighten everything for both them. Given Flint’s fiery nature, Hackett wasn’t entirely certain how the man would respond. He teased him until he was certain Flint was _almost_ to the point of no return then slid a ring around the hard cock in his hand before the younger man could respond.

“What the _hell_ is that?” Flint reached for the ring only to frown a second later.

“A handy bit of tech that I found on Earth the last time I was there. It’s coded to me.” Hackett lightly flicked his thumb against Flint’s cock then used it to collect some of the moisture gathered there. He held it up to Flint’s lips. “Taste yourself.”

Flint’s eyes narrowed and some emotion Hackett couldn’t identify flickered across his face before his tongue flicked out to clean Hackett’s thumb. “Now what?”

“Now you dress and we have dinner.” Hackett answered calmly. “Or you tell me that you aren’t interested in the ring and the control that comes with it. If you aren’t interested, I’ll remove it and we can have a normal dinner.

“Now? Are you shitting me?” Flint ran his fingers roughly through his hair. “I want this. I’m…shit…I want you and I’m clearly not…shit…look I’m hard as I’ve ever been in my damn life. I’m not saying no.”

“Good. Very good. Now, put your clothes on like a good lad.” Hackett got to his feet and stepped away from Flint. “I made reservations at a nearby restaurant.”

“I can’t…” Flint glanced down at the very hard, still dripping cock. “I’m going to _stick_ out quite literally.”

“And?” Hackett shrugged indifferently. He brushed his knuckles against Flint causing him to groan. “Get dressed, Flint. _Now.”_

Sitting back onto the crate with an air of indifference, Hackett waited patiently for Flint to jeans and black button-up t-shirt. He waited until Flint was dressed and then reached down to lower the zipper to his own jeans to pull his own cock out. He grabbed Flint by the arm and pushed him down to his knees.

“Suck.”

“Are you…” Flint did get another word out as Hackett _gave_ him something better to do with his mouth.

They’d go over the details of how far down the road Flint wanted to go later, but for now it was time to give him a taste. Hackett caught a hold of the dusty brown mop of hair and used it to push the man further down on his cock. He throbbed at the low moan that emanated from Flint at the rough thrusts he was using to drive himself forward.

“That’s it. Suck harder.” Hackett’s voice was gruff and deep with his impending pleasure. He controlled the movements Flint was making until finally he gave the younger man a mouthful. He ran his fingers gently through Flint’s hair to straighten it. “I do believe it’s time I took you out for dinner.”

“Holy shit.” Flint sank back onto his heels and ran a hand shakily across his lips. “Give me a second to remember how to breathe.”

Fifteen minutes later, Flint was sitting next to Hackett at a table in the corner of the restaurant. He was still having trouble breathing. Hackett’s hand rested on the bulge in the younger man’s jeans, his fingers ever so gently stroking.

“ _Steven.”_ Flint hadn’t managed to choke down more than a bite of steak. He seemed to be having trouble doing anything other than _not_ moaning in public. “Please…”

“Since you asked so nicely.” Hackett lifted the tablecloth to ensure it covered his hand then worked down Flint’s zipper.

“I meant stop, shit…don’t…” Flint turned his head to the side when the server approached to refill his glass of water.

Hackett waved off the server while easing his hand into Flint’s boxers. He ran his thumb along the ring until it released. It didn’t take more than a few hard strokes for the much needed climax. “Good lad.”

“Oh fuck.” Flint snatched up the glass of water to gulp down half of it. “Are you insane?”

“Me? Not even close.” Hackett brought his hand up to Flint who immediately noticed the mess on the palm of it. “Clean me off.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Flint's Outfit: http://pixelatrix.tumblr.com/post/108021683707/retrodrive-casual-male-fashion


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bioware owns all sadly.
> 
> Kudos, Subscriptions and Bookmarks are a drug that I love to receive. Comments are chocolate, they make everything better. I am thankful for all of them.
> 
> Shout out to my spectacular betas: CelticGrace & MissMeggo929
> 
> Hope you enjoy

Stepping into his favourite coffee shop near his office, Hackett fought the urge to burst into uproarious laughter. He had a prime view of a group of marines sitting around one of the tables. One of the group appeared to be sopping spilled coffee from his lap with a napkin.

_Of course._

_Poor Flint._

His laughter faded as Hackett spotted Major Jace Evans seated beside Flint. He knew from reports that the Major had become close friends with Flint during the N6 and N7 test which Evans was in charge of. He wasn’t incredibly pleased to see how _comfortable_ the man made _his_ Flint.

After setting the damp cloth aside, Flint glanced up to meet the Admiral’s gaze. Hackett could practically hear his groan across the room. He chuckled when Flint reached up to grab the edges of the knit beanie to tug it down over his eyes to cover his embarrassment.

“We can still fucking see you.” Evans swatted him on the back. He leaned closer to whisper something before continuing in a louder voice. “How is it possible for you to be so damn capable on the field and yet stumbling over yourself outside of uniform?”

“Shut. Up.” Flint ground out with obvious irritation.

The two men exchanged a glance once Flint shifted his hat back up to a normal position.  Hackett frowned at the look, but had no idea what it could signify. He received his answer a moment later when Flint stood up to offer him a salute drawing the attention of the others to the admiral.

“ _Admiral.”_

“Enjoy your coffee.” Hackett acknowledge the salutes and moved over to the country to place his order. He ignored the murmurings behind him though twisted slightly to the side to watch Evans shove Flint out of his chair toward him.

“I’ve got this.” Flint tossed a credit chit down onto the counter and attempted to look casual while leaning against it. “Morning.”

Hackett lifted an eyebrow at him. “What _are_ you doing?”

“Jace is convinced I can be suave with a little coaching.” Flint reached up to rub the back of his neck while giving Hackett a sheepish smile. “I’m mostly trying to get him to leave me alone.”

“Congratulations on your new assignment to the _Normandy_.” Hackett wanted to get the conversation away from Evans. _Not that he was jealous._ “Are you celebrating?”

“Not quite,” Flint shrugged.

“You should. It’s an impressive accomplishment for a young commander.” Hackett grabbed the coffee and started to offer his thanks to Flint only to have the man be dragged back to his table by one of his breakfast buddies. “Enjoy your coffee.”

* * *

 

_From: Autumn Shepard_

_To: Flint Shepard_

_Subj: Hello?_

_Seriously?_

_How long are you going to ignore me, big brother?_

_Don’t make me guilt you into at least saying hello._

_I’ve got a spring break coming up from university. Come see me? Please?_

_I promise to keep the ‘mom’ talk to a minimum._

_Please?_

_Love you,_

_Autumn_

* * *

 

“What are you doing with Flint Shepard?” Hackett got straight to the point once the door to his office was closed.

Evans snorted in amusement at the Admiral. “Me? Not doing a damn thing aside from trying to help him find some confidence in himself.”

“He’s…”

“He’s a man with a lot of demons in his past.” Evans stalked across the room to stand in front of Hackett’s desk. “He’s confident with his Alliance armour as a shield from the world and he’s full of ego when he’s running. It doesn’t translate outside of that however. You’ve seen it, I know you have. I’ve no interest in him other than friendship so stop acting like a damn jealous child.”

“Evans.” Hackett stood slowly up from his desk and took measure steps to walk around toward the major. “Did you hit your head on the way in here?”

“No, sir.”

“Then what makes you think I’m going to let you stand in my office and call me a child.” Hackett stopped moving when he was a hairs breadth away from the man. “Who the _hell_ do you think you are?”

“A concerned friend.” Evans crossed his arms and refused to back down. “The question really is, who are you?”

“I’m the damn admiral who’s going to be sending your ass to the first backwater I can find to cool your heels for the next six months if you don’t wipe that smirk off your face.” Hackett pointed toward the door to his office. “And if you don’t want to be reassigned, I suggest you get out of my office within the next five seconds.”

Evans broke into a wide grin. “Well, well, well. I always wondered what it would take to get any sort of emotion out of you. I’m pleased to see Flint’s the cause of this. Good luck, Admiral.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jace Evans: http://pixelatrix.tumblr.com/post/109203899606/hairygingerman-handsome-marco
> 
> Flint's outfit: http://pixelatrix.tumblr.com/post/109130998506/retrodrive-casual-male-fashion


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bioware owns all sadly.
> 
> Kudos, Subscriptions and Bookmarks are a drug that I love to receive. Comments are chocolate, they make everything better. I am thankful for all of them.
> 
> Shout out to my spectacular betas: CelticGrace & MissMeggo929
> 
> Hope you enjoy

Hackett scowled at the report in his hand. The _Normandy’s_ first mission had been delayed for another eight months to fix some issues engineering was having. It was frustrating to have to put such an important thing back. The council weren’t happy either as they’d been planning on reviewing the human candidate for spectre.

His scowl deepened when he turned his thoughts to the man in question—Flint. Hackett had hoped the delay would all whom to spend more time with Flint.   He’d been disappointed to discover the young officer had raced off with Jace Evans to Earth for some important track meet.

The sheer aggravation Hackett felt was beyond ridiculous. He tossed the report aside with a disgusted huff.   He reminded himself that he was a damn fleet admiral and would not be some green recruit acting like a love-sick puppy.

He glanced up in surprise to see Flint stepping through into his office. “Aren’t you supposed to be on Earth?”

“I’ve been told to stop being a damn coward,” Flint shrugged. “Track events aren’t as much fun when I can’ run.”

“When you can’t win, you mean?”

Flint’s eyes flashed with anger then he sighed before shrugging once again. “Maybe.”

“So what happened to hanging out with Evans?”

“Are you _jealous?”_ Flint’s casual teasing would’ve been effective if he hadn’t managed to miss the bookshelf he was trying to lean on and stumbled forward. “Oh for fuck’s sake.”

Hackett eased his chair back away from his desk and observed the flushed man in front of him. “Marines really shouldn’t blush like you do.”

“I could be enjoying beers with my buddies right now, damn it.” Flint shoved his hands into his jeans’ pockets. “It wasn’t as much fun without you.”

“Wasn’t it?” Hackett tilted his chair a little and waved Flint closer.   He frowned when the man hesitated. “Come here like a good lad.”

With an uneasy glare and an aggravated huff, Flint moved hesitantly across the office until he was a few feet away from Hackett. He caught the younger man by the wrist and dragged him the rest of the way. He positioned him against the desk.

“Steven?”

Hackett shoved Flint up onto his desk and reached out to begin unzipping Flint’s jeans. “Can you be quiet?”

“ _Shit.”_ Flint hissed out a moan when Hackett slid a hand into his boxers and wrapped it around his already hard cock. “What…your yeoman is…oh.”

Deciding Flint needed to be silenced; Hackett shifted forward in his chair and took the tempting cock in front of him straight into his mouth. He worked one hand up under Flint’s hoodie to begin tormenting his nipples with flicks and pinches. His other hand moved down to tug and massage the younger man’s balls.

“Oh…shit.”

Hackett pulled back though he teased Flint with a flick of his tongue. “Be silent, or I’ll help you keep your mouth occupied.”

Flint’s lips twitched into a grin then he bit his bottom one to keep from uttering a moan when Hackett ran his tongue along the underside of the head of his cock. “How the hell do you do this to me every damn time?”

“Years of experience.” Hackett stood suddenly and caught Flint by the back of the neck to guide him further onto his desk. “Grip the back of my desk with your hands, and I thought I said to be _quiet.”_

“I…”

Reaching up to place his hand over Flint’s mouth, Hackett used his other hand to deftly first drew down the younger man’s jeans and boxers then unbuckled his own dress trousers to ease his shaft out. He kept Flint pinned to the desk while casually stroking his cock. There were flickers of anger in the blue eyes looking up at him when he teased him.

“Careful, lad, we wouldn’t want anyone to find out our first time was on my desk, would we?” Hackett punctuated the taunt with the slow slide of a finger slicked with lube through the tight ring. He twisted it around and pumped it in and out a few times before adding a second. “Fuck yourself on my fingers and maybe I’ll give you what you want.”

His smile broadened at the moan which was muffled by his hand. Hackett watched Flint while he shifted his legs on the desk to get better leverage to push himself down onto the three fingers in him.   He adjusted his arm slightly causing one of the fingers to brush against Flint’s prostate.   He could see the younger man trying desperately for a second touch, but Hackett kept them just out of the way.

When both of their patience ran out with his teasing, Hackett withdrew his fingers, lubed his cock and then with an achingly slow pace drove it in. Flint started to bring his hands up to touch Hackett, but he shoved them back to the desk. Knowing they had limited time, he wrapped his fingers around Flint’s shaft and stroked him to the same hard rhythm he was using with his body.

He bent forward, causing his shaft to go even further, and whispered harshly into Flint’s ear. “You’re going to come now. You’re going to cover my hand and then you’re going to lick it clean like a good lad.”

With another audible groan, Flint arched off the desk and obeyed Hackett’s ordered rather beautifully. His own satisfaction came shortly after with the clenching around his cock too much to resist.   The release left both of them breathing heavily with Hackett slumped over the man underneath him.

“Get a good taste, lad.” Hackett replaced the hand he’d been using as a gag to allow Flint to lick his own mess from his fingers.  He could hear his yeoman on the other side of the other door. “Get under my desk.”

“Excuse me?”

He caught Flint by the shirt and dragged him off his desk then pushed him down onto his knees under the desk. “Stay there.”

Walking over to the washroom attached to his office, Hackett meticulously cleaned himself up and straightened up his uniform. He was just getting comfortable in his chair when the young lieutenant who worked with him stepped into his office. He went over his agenda for the next few hours without considering the man crouched between his legs out of view.

“Captain Anderson is here for your meeting.”

“Send him in.” Hackett caught Flint by the hair and yanked his head forward until he felt lips bump against his cock. “In your mouth, lad. Make my afternoon more interesting.”

 

 

 


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bioware owns all sadly.
> 
> Kudos, Subscriptions and Bookmarks are a drug that I love to receive. Comments are chocolate, they make everything better. I am thankful for all of them.
> 
> Shout out to my spectacular betas: CelticGrace & MissMeggo929
> 
> Hope you enjoy

Stepping into Flint’s quarters on Arcturus, Hackett raised an eyebrow when the man backed against the wall and froze in place. He appeared to be trying to play it _cool._ It was endearing the way he flushed under the Admiral’s scrutiny.

“What _are_ you doing?” Hackett queried when Flint still hadn’t moved.

“Nothing.” He growled angrily then rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish grin. “If I don’t move, I can’t make an ass of myself again.”

“Then don’t move.” Hackett knelt in front of him. He reached up to grasp the top of Flint’s jeans and yanked them open.   He focused on the hard cock in front of him when he shoved down Flint’s trousers and boxers. “How still _can_ you be if you try?”

Flint choked on his response when Hackett flicked his tongue across the head of shaft. “God…”

They were so entranced by each other they failed to hear the door slide open.

“ _Oi, Flint_ , I brought beer, pizza, your dad and his boytoy.” Jace’s voice boomed into the living quarters. “Oh… _fuck.”_

“What’s the goddamn hold up?” Zaeed shoved Jace out of his way to enter with Lino close behind him. “The bloody hell is…”

“Kill me now.” Flint’s hand shot out to stop Hackett from moving. “Zip me up for fuck’s sake.”

Hackett smirked at the frantic edge to Flint’s voice. He carefully _replaced_ his prize where it belonged then stood up with an air of calm indifference as he faced the three intruders. “Good evening.”

Flint knocked his head against the wall a few times before finally looking over toward the intruders. “What _are_ you doing here?”

“Someone dig my goddamn eyes out.” Zaeed grabbed one of the bottles of beer from Jace and chugged it down. “I’m scarred for life.”

“You?” Flint covered his face with his hands while Hackett guided him over to the couch. “This is a nightmare. I’m going to wake up and it’ll all be a damn dream.”

“Yeah, good luck with that.” Jace leaned over the back of the couch to hand his friend a beer, completely ignoring the glare Hackett sent him. He held out a second bottle toward the admiral. “Beer?”

“Give me another bloody beer. I’m not drunk enough to deal with having seen that.” Zaeed punched Jace in the arm then snatched up another bottle. “You’re goddamn fault.”

“My fault?” Jace glared at the man. “I am not responsible for your son’s devious nature.”

“Can we _not_ have this be any more awkward than it already is?” Flint looked like he wanted to disappear. “Can we just _not.”_

“Flint…”

He shot to his feet and stormed out of the room with Hackett following close behind after a sharp warning to the others to keep their asses in the living room. He found Flint pacing in his bedroom struggling with his anger and embarrassment. He stepped inside and let the door slide shut behind him.

“Calm yourself.”

“Fuck you.”

Hackett caught him by the shirt and held him against the wall. “It’s not the end of the world.”

“It might be.”

* * *

 

_From: Autumn Shepard_

_To: Flint Shepard_

_Subj: My Birthday._

_Meet me at the café on Arcturus? The one we went to last time?_

_Just me._

_Love you,_

_Autumn_

 

 


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bioware owns all sadly.
> 
> Kudos, Subscriptions and Bookmarks are a drug that I love to receive. Comments are chocolate, they make everything better. I am thankful for all of them.
> 
> Shout out to my spectacular betas: CelticGrace & MissMeggo929
> 
> Hope you enjoy

The idea of a bath being sexual and seductive hadn’t worked out like most of the things Flint tried. He’d ended up in the over-sized tub filled with far too many bubbles to be practical. Hackett simply leaned against the nearby sink and watched him flounder in the suds with a highly bemused look in his eyes.

“It’s a good look for you.” Hackett reached out to flick a large pile of bubbles that had settled on top of his head. “What’s all this about then? Not that I mind you spending your last day before you leave in my tub—naked.”

“Don’t get used to it. I’ve got lunch with my sister in about ten minutes.” Flint nudged the bottle of bath soap which had clearly been responsible for the mess. “This took longer to set up than intended.”

“What precisely _was_ the intention?”

“At this point, I’m aiming for too damn adorable to ignore.” Flint covered his face with a hand still dripping with soap and water. “Sexy and seductive is clearly beyond me.”

* * *

 

_From: Autumn_

_To: Flint_

_Subj: Late._

_Where the hell are you?_

_I’m hungry._

_Autumn_

* * *

 

Flint had been looking forward to seeing his little sister. It had been a while since they’d spent any real time together. He’d hoped his step-father would join them. He still cared greatly for the man.

His mother, however, was an unexpected and unpleasant surprise. Flint felt completely blindsided and betrayed by his little sister. He stood behind the empty chair at the table, gripping the back of it while his biotics flared wildly along his forearms.

“Sit, Flint, please?” Autumn begged with obvious concern in her voice. “Please, give her a chance? It’s my birthday.”

“Well, happy fucking birthday, autumn.” Flint flung her present on the table with enough force that it bounced twice and finally fell to the floor behind them. “Enjoy the fucking cake.”

“ _Flint.”_

Ignoring his sister, Flint stormed away from the able. His eyes flashed angrily when a familiar hand caught him by the arm. With a flick of his fingers, he had Hannah pinned to a nearby wall with his biotics.

“Touch me again, and I’ll put you through the damn wall.” Flint released her then escaped before he could truly do damage to her. Autumn called after him, but he ignored her.

Racing blindly across the station, Flint wound up at his favourite obstacle course. He threw himself into one of his free-running routines without bothering to change into his work-out clothes or warming up. He went until his body gave out on him causing him to collapse on his back in the middle of course on the ground.

“Flint?”

“Flint’s not fucking here right now.”

“Is it invisible son time?” Zaeed eased himself down to sit beside Flint.

“Not fucking now, dad,” Flint groaned with an arm covering his eyes. He didn’t have the energy to shove the hand that came to rest on his arm off. “How’d you know?”

“Your sister messaged Lino. She sounded panicked so he messaged me.” Zaeed’s voice was filled with concern. Flint couldn’t bring himself to lift his arm to look at his dad. “Hannah was escorted from the station by Evans.”

“I owe him a beer.” Flint found himself even more grateful for Jace’s friendship. “How’s Autumn?”

“Gone as well.” His dad shifted around to stretch out on his back beside his son. “Want to shoot somethin’?”

“No.”

“Want a Cheeseburger pizza with beer?”

“No.”

“Hackett?”

“No.” Flint did lift his arm up then to grin at his dad. “How much did that hurt to offer?”

“I might lose my goddamn lunch>” He grabbed his stomach with an over-dramatic moan.

“Ass.” Flint sat up and then wiped the sweat from his face with the bottom of his now ruined dress shirt. “Am I weak?”

“Weak? The goddamn hell are you talking about? Because the bitch bothers you?” Zaeed got to his feet and dragged Flint up with him. “She fucked you up, son. You’ve handled it better than most would.”

“But…am I weak?”

“Not a fucking chance in hell.” His dad nudged him with his elbow. “How could you be? You’ve got my goddamn blood in your veins.”

“ _Dad.”_ Flint rolled his eyes at him. “Why can’t Autumn leave this shit alone? Am I wrong to not want to see Hannah?”

“The kid wants her mother. I think she wants a ‘happy fucking family.’ You’re not wrong to have boundaries.” Zaeed threw his arm across Flint’s shoulders. “You stink, by the way, you need a goddamn shower.”

“ _Thanks._ ”

They were almost to the door of the gym when it slid open and Hackett rushed in with concern obvious on his face. Zaeed winked at his son before shoving him toward the Admiral. He told Flint to come by before he headed to the _Normandy._

“That was bizarrely discreet of the man.” Hackett watched Zaeed leave then turned his attention to Flint. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah,” Flint shrugged indifferently.

“How about I treat you and your fathers to breakfast?” Hackett glanced down at his watch before reaching out to take Flint by the hand.

“Fathers? Lino isn’t…”

“Might as well be.” Hackett tugged Flint toward the door with their fingers firmly intertwined together. “Hannah has been _permanently_ barred from stepping foot on Arcturus or any other Alliance vessel. “

“Yeah.”

“You have people who love you, Flint. The fact that Hannah couldn’t is on _her_ not on you. She failed you as a mother. She doesn’t deserve a son like you.” Hackett brought Flint’s hand up to kiss the back of it. “I care about you a great deal. You realize this right?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The start of this chapter was inspired by this image: http://pixelatrix.tumblr.com/post/112601735991/ilikelookingatnakedmen-for-tanukiham


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bioware owns all sadly.
> 
> Kudos, Subscriptions and Bookmarks are a drug that I love to receive. Comments are chocolate, they make everything better. I am thankful for all of them.
> 
> Shout out to my spectacular betas: CelticGrace & MissMeggo929
> 
> Hope you enjoy

Throwing himself into his new post on the _Normandy_ , Flint used it as a distraction from the screaming matches that he’d had with his sister recently. He’d finally told her to stop messaging him if she couldn’t respect his desire to avoid Hannah at all costs. They both needed the time to calm down in any case.

“Hey Commander?”

Flint groaned inwardly at the familiar, friendly voice. He finished pouring his coffee then turned to face the hesitant Lieutenant-Commander in front of him. “It’s Shepard, Alenko. We had that conversation already.”

“Yes, Sir. Captain Anderson says we’re stopping on Arcturus for supplies before we head to Eden Prime.” Alenko took a step closer toward him. “I wondered if you might want to grab some…coffee while we’re there.”

He’d been attempting to avoid this conversation with the man for months. “Coffee?”

“I…”

“Alenko…Kaidan.” Flint gritted his teeth at the sheer awkwardness of the moment. He rubbed the back of his neck vigorously. “Is it just coffee?”

“Well, no.”

“I’m sorry, I’m not…exactly single.” Flint left out that he still wasn’t certain what he was to Hackett or what the man wanted long term.

“ _Shepard.”_

Both men jumped when Anderson interrupted the awkward conversation, Flint, grateful for the interruption, rushed over to see what the captain wanted. He was less appreciative when the man informed him that he was responsible for handling the inventory—along with Alenko.

_Damn it._

“Is there a problem, Commander?”

“No, sir.” Flint tripped while walking over to the lift to head down to the shuttle bay. He groaned in mortification as Anderson reached out to keep him on his feet. “Thanks.”

“What precisely does _‘not exactly single’_ mean, Shepard?” Anderson joined him in the elevator much to Flint’s aggravation.

“I…”

“Alenko’s a good marine. He’ll figure out you aren’t interested.” Anderson smiled encouragingly at Flint who merely grunted with his hand covering his face. “It’s not the end of the world, Shepard.”

“Yeah.”

“So when are you and Steven going to make this official?” Anderson seemed even more amused as Flint impatiently and repeatedly pressed the button for the Shuttle Bay. “It’s not going to make it any faster.”

“Why don’t you ask _Steven?”_ Flint left out that it was certainly frowned upon for an admiral to be involved with a junior officer. “He’s…”

“What?”

“Not of your damn business.” Flint thanked all the gods when the doors slid open. He glanced over his shoulder at Anderson while exiting the lift. “My relationship is no one’s business, Captain.”

“It is when…”

“I’d appreciate it if you’d all leave me the hell alone.” Flint’s biotics flared briefly before he pulled his temper back in with immense effort. “And I don’t want to talk about my mother either.”

Anderson’s eyes narrowed on him. “You’d do well to remember that I’m your C.O., Shepard.”

“Then back off my personal shit, _Sir.”_ Flint had reached his limit.

It seemed like everyone in his life had an opinion on his relationship with his sister and mother, _along_ with wanting to comment on his growing involvement with Hackett. He wanted to tell them all to go to hell. Anderson might not take that well, but it wasn’t any of his damn business.

“Shepard?”

Flint all but growled when he spun around to face Anderson. “ _What_?”

Anderson frowned at him.

“What, Sir?”

“I’m not the enemy, Flint.” Anderson kept his voice low even though they both realized the crew were watching them. “I’m sorry for putting my nose in, but I care about you. You’re bottling too much of this up.”

“I can handle it, _Sir.”_

“Can you?”

Flint lifted an eyebrow at him. “I’ve been handling this shit by myself since I was little. I don’t need help.”

“You have a father who loves you. You have a man who deeply cares about you.” Anderson reached out to rest his hand on Flint’s tense shoulders. “Nothing wrong with leaning on either of them.”

“I…”

“Just think about it. You’ve got great potential; don’t toss it out because you can’t control your damn temper.” Anderson left him alone with that thought.

* * *

 

_From: David Anderson_

_To: Steven Hackett_

_Subj: Flint._

_I think you need to speak with him about your relationship and about his mother._

_Kid’s going to lose his temper and hurt someone otherwise._

_David_


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bioware owns all sadly.
> 
> Kudos, Subscriptions and Bookmarks are a drug that I love to receive. Comments are chocolate, they make everything better. I am thankful for all of them.
> 
> Shout out to my spectacular betas: CelticGrace & MissMeggo929
> 
> Hope you enjoy

With four complete runs of his favourite obstacle course completed, Flint didn’t feel any better _at all._   The periodic flashes of rage still happened as strongly as they had hours ago.  His hands shook with the overwhelming effort of keeping it all bottled up.  Getting a mental grip on himself, he forced his body to turn toward the locker room.  Maybe a shower would do what the work out hadn’t been able to. 

If Flint delayed it any further, it was likely Anderson would send out a search party.  A reprimand for being absent without leave wouldn’t look great in his Alliance file.  He didn’t think the captain would be all that impressed in any case.

“You used to run yourself ragged in the school gym.”  Lino had been waiting for him by the main doors with a bottle of water and sandwich.  “Drink, eat, calm down.”

“Coach.”

“Not your coach anymore.”

“It was simpler when I was little.” Flint fiddled with the lid on the bottle of water. “Can’t seem to keep a lid on my temper.”

“You can blame Zaeed for your temper.” Lino laughed then nudged his arm. “Eat.”

“Yes, Coach.” Flint glared at him but took a bite anyway.  He turned his attention to the blue clouds dancing around his fingers.  “I don’t know what I’m fucking doing.”

“In general? Or?”

Flint shrugged in response.

“Your mother abused the hell out of you as a kid.  Your sister just tried to force you to reconcile with the woman.  You’ve taken the second-in-command position on the most advanced ship in the fleet while being in a forbidden and relatively hidden relationship with one of the highest ranked officers in the Alliance.” Lin ticked the issues off on his fingers.  “You’re overwhelmed and a Massani handles that one way—a temper tantrum.”

“ _Lino.”_

“Am I wrong?”

“Why does my dad put up with you?” He threw his hand out to clamp over Lino’s mouth. “It was a rhetorical question.  I don’t need the answer since it’ll be perverse and traumatizing.”

“No more traumatizing than walking in on you and your Admiral the other day.”

Flint choked on a bite of his sandwich. “Jackass.”

“Wasn’t my ass that was bare to the world.”

“Lino. Focus. How do I control this shit?” He felt like he’d had this conversation so many times, yet no one ever had a solution which worked. “I can’t keep doing this. I’ll lose my damn mind—and my fucking career.”

“How about you try talking to the man who cares so much for you?” Lino sounded as if he were speaking about Zaeed at first. “He’s risking his career to be in a relationship with you.  You could at least pretend to meet him half way?”

“Are you projecting your shit with my dad onto me?”

“Maybe.”

“Jackass.”

“So you said.”

* * *

 

_From: Jace E._

_To: Flint. S._

_Subj: re: Hackett._

_I imagine he’s in his office._

_Why don’t you stop being a chicken shit and go talk to him?_

_Anderson asked me if he’d seen you.  I said you were having a medical check-up.  Maybe Hackett can probe you?_

_Jace_

* * *

 

“You’ve been avoiding me.” Hackett sounded both hurt and bewildered. “Why?”

“Stuff to think about.” Flint tried to appear nonchalant.  He stumbled slightly walking into the room and groaned.  He never seemed to manage _suave_ around Hackett and how the hell was he supposed to confide in the man. “Fuck me.”

“If you insist.”

“That wasn’t…” 

Hackett didn’t give him a chance to say anything else.  He walked up behind Flint and reached around him to grab the front of his shirt to yank it open.  Ripping it off of him, the shirt was discarded on the floor as the admiral reached up to roughly graze his fingernails across Flint’s nipples.   They were flicked a second later causing him to gasp in response.

Taking only the briefest amount of time to prepare him, Hackett kept an arm around Flint’s chest while backing them up to his desk.  He scooted onto it and lifted the younger man up.   Forcing him to plant his feet on either side of Hackett, Flint was slowly pressed down onto Hackett’s cock.   The man kept an iron grip on his hip to guide the movement.

“Fuck.”

“Show me your leg strength, bounce on cock like a good lad.” Hackett swatted the inside of his thigh for good measure.  “That’s it.”

“Did you at least lock your door?” Flint didn’t relish the humiliation of being walked in on for a second time.

His query fell on deaf ears.  Flint went to ask again only for a warm, calloused hand to grasp his cock and stroke it _hard._   He practically bit through his lip to keep his moans quiet.  Hackett seemed to be going out of his way to elicit sounds from him—fucking bastard.

“The next time you need to release anger. You don’t run for hours.” Hackett slammed up into him with his fingers still digging into Flint’s hip. “You bend your ass over my desk.”

Despite his efforts to make Flint moan, Hackett muffled his own sounds against Flint’s back.  He also nipped and sucked on the sweaty skin.  It made his concerns about being caught fade completely into the background.

“And we _are_ going to talk about all of this when I’m finished with you.” Hackett punctuated each word with a tug on Flint’s cock.  

Flint wasn’t confident that he would remember how to hold a conversation.  He tried to get lost in the sensations.  He could stammer his way through the conversation another time.

As if sensing the shift of his thoughts, Hackett flipped them around so Flint was now pressed against his desk.  He brought them both to completion then made Flint clean up the messed he’d made of Hackett’s paperwork.   He dropped his forehead on the desk while trying to regain his composure enough to avoid what the man wanted to speak about.

“Might want to pull your jeans up.” Hackett lightly flicked Flint’s ass.  “You really do blush far too easily for a marine.”

 


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bioware owns all sadly.
> 
> Kudos, Subscriptions and Bookmarks are a drug that I love to receive. Comments are chocolate, they make everything better. I am thankful for all of them.
> 
> Shout out to my spectacular betas: CelticGrace & MissMeggo929
> 
> Hope you enjoy

Sitting in his quarters with his head in his hands, Flint remembered something Lino had told him once many years ago when he’d been his track coach.  ‘Stress erodes control; learn to control your stress to control your temper.’ It had been an attempt to help Flint gain some semblance of power over his temper.  The conversations from the past few hours swirled around his head—a taunting reminder it didn’t work.

It _never_ worked.

For all the efforts his dad and Lino had gone to in helping him with his temper, it clearly hadn’t worked.  The only difference between now and then was the consequences were more far-reaching and severe.  And he’d managed to fuck _everything_ up this time.

After rescuing Doctor T’soni and helping the colonists on Feros, Flint had ordered the _Normandy_ to return to the Citadel only to run into his mother.  She’d apparently gotten work for a human corporation based on the station.  They’d had words—unpleasant, four-letter ones.  His control already frayed at the seams from the encounter, it had only taken one relatively innocent word from Hackett to set him off.

It had been a simple question.

‘ _Have you tried talking to her?’_

Flint hadn’t bothered to find out if the man meant his mother or his sister.  He just _flipped_ the fuck out.  His biotics flared wildly.  It had been all he could manage not to physically or biotically attack Hackett. He did what seemed right at the time, but now felt like a massive mistake—broke up with him.

It had been a week.

A week of torture.

Each time the _Normandy_ flew into a new system, Hackett came over the QEC to inform him of a new _important_ mission the Fifth Fleet needed him to handle.  It had gotten to the point of the ridiculous.  Flint had spent the past four hours chasing after chattering monkeys.  He’d even gotten strange looks from Gardner and Chakwas, who knew the Admiral fairly well.

_Damn it._

* * *

 

_From: Zaeed Massani_

_To: Steven Hackett_

_Subj: Lost your gaddamn mind?_

_I promised to stay the fuck out of this mess if you promised to fucking fix it._

_Now I find out that your brilliant bloody plan to fix it is to turn my son into your bloody gopher.  Give me one goddamn reason that I shouldn’t—nevermind.  Lino informs me that my son won’t appreciate my grumpy meddling any more than you do.  I don’t give a shit if you appreciate it or not._

_He’s on the Citadel all fucked up because he lost one of his crew and control of his ship._

_Maybe you should try talking to him? Instead of sending him chasing after fucking monkeys._

_Massani_

* * *

 

“Commander?”

Flint yanked the damp towel off his head and glanced up to find Joker and Gardner hesitating by the Mako that had been blocking the crew’s view of him while he worked out.  Gardner had a bottle of scotch in one hand, three glasses in the other.  “Where’s the rest of the crew?”

“The cowardly lions are shitting themselves in the mess.  They’re worried about how our little mutiny might affect their careers.”  Joker eased carefully onto a nearby crate.

“Wrex is probably _not_ shitting himself.” Flint tossed his sweat soaked towel onto the floor and begrudgingly accepted the glass Gardner held out to him.  He’d spent quite a bit of time in the engine room with the man.  He’d become a confident of sorts.  “Is everyone ready for the jump to Ilos?”

“Have a drink first, Shepard.” Gardner lifted his glass. “To Kaidan Alenko.”

“And stopping the bastards who killed him,” Joker added.

“I’ll drink to that.” Flint took a swig of the scotch and felt it burn its way down his throat.  He grimaced before setting the glass down. “Shouldn’t you be getting us to Ilos?”

“Uhm. Yes.” Joker got slowly to his feet and made his way over to the elevator.

“You should message the Admiral.” Gardner dragged the crate that he was using for a seat closer to Flint. “We don’t know what you’re going to find on Ilos.  You should at least hear the man out.”

“Why?”

“Why do you think he’s been giving you all these pointless missions?”

“He’s a sadist.”

“Or maybe it’s the only way he can hear your voice?” Gardner smiled at Flint’s dubious snort. “I’ve been around longer than you, Commander.  Hackett’s a shrewd man.  He gave you the space you needed, but stayed in contact so you wouldn’t forget him.”

“Sadist.”

“Maybe he is, but that doesn’t mean I’m not right.” Gardner poured him another drink. “I’m heading to the engine room.  Don’t wait too long.”

* * *

 

_From: Jace_

_To: Flint_

_Subj: re: I’m an idiot._

_No shit._

_You just realized this?_

_Why the hell are you telling me this? Why don’t you tell your sexy Admiral?_

_Jace_

_P.S. I still think you should’ve sent him a crate of those weird monkeys._

* * *

 

It was only his years of experience which kept Hackett seated when Flint limped into the conference room on the Alliance Command Center ship.  He’d been using it to guide the fleets during the battle of the Citadel, and now it was where they’d been handling the debrief.  He gestured for Flint to take a seat, trying not to appear overly anxious at the obvious injuries to the Commander’s arm and leg.

“Why is this necessary?” Flint shifted gingerly in the chair thirty minutes into their conversation. “I’d rather be drinking myself into oblivion with my crew.”

“Flint.”

“Admiral?”

Hackett winced at the _lack_ of inflection in Flint’s tone.  “Can I buy you dinner?”

Flint blinked at him severely times. “Dinner?”

“Dinner.”

 


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bioware owns all sadly.
> 
> Kudos, Subscriptions and Bookmarks are a drug that I love to receive. Comments are chocolate, they make everything better. I am thankful for all of them.
> 
> Shout out to my spectacular betas: CelticGrace & MissMeggo929
> 
> Hope you enjoy

_Over two and a half years later…_

Hackett glanced over at the frame which sat on in his desk.  It held two unusual items for a supposed piece of art.  It held a pair of melted dogtags and two tickets.  They were for the date that never happened before…before the _Normandy_ disintegrated.

“Admiral?”

Hackett glanced up at his yeoman. “Yes?”

“I just receive a report from the station emergency centre.  There’s been a fire reported in your quarters?” 

“A fire?”

“Yes, sir.”

The trip to his quarters took half of the time it normally did.  And soon, Hackett stood in the middle of his kitchen, looking around at the complete disaster.  There was no sign of a forced entry or intruder except for the catastrophe his counters had become and the slightly singed look to his oven and stove.

“So about that dinner date…”

He spun around at the sound of a familiar voice.  “Flint?”

“Hello.” Flint rubbed his hand along his neck sheepishly then brushed through his hair, sending clouds of flour floating to the ground. “I…uhm…attempted to make dinner.”

“I see that.” Hackett set the pan in his hand down and strode confidently toward Flint.  He reached out to brush flour from his t-shirt. “It didn’t work out too well, eh?”

“No.” Flint’s cheeks flushed a faint shade of red. “I’m not dead.”

“No.” Hackett slid his hand across the top of Flint’s shoulder until it rested against his neck.  His fingers gripping him tightly while his thumb stroked along the edge of his jawline. “You feel _very_ much alive.”

“I can prove that I’m…uhm…you know…me.” Flint stammered to a halt when Hackett chuckled.

“You destroyed my kitchen making a romantic dinner for me.  I’m pretty confident a clone or AI wouldn’t even _attempt_ romance with an admiral.” He used his grasp on Flint to push him back until he fell back onto the couch.  He knelt in front of him, letting his arms grip Flint’s upper thighs tightly. “I’ve missed you.”

“Really?” Flint seemed annoyed at the slight tremble in his voice.

“Commander Shepard has been alive for months.  You even accomplished a mission for me.  Is there a reason you’ve put off seeing me until now?”  Hackett stood up and stepped away from Flint.  He’d been tempted to force the issue by having Councillor Anderson arrange a meeting on the Citadel.   His pride had kept him from pushing the issue. “I don’t think it had anything to do with you wanting to prove who you were either.  I’ve already heard from both your father and Ortiz that you survived. Why were you hiding from me?”

“I just…” Flint leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and his face hidden in his hands. “I thought you might’ve moved on.”

Hackett felt a surge of sheer frustration at the level of insecurity Flint had when it came to people caring about him.  “Perhaps we should start over.”

“What?”

There had been so many times Hackett wished to be able to start over with Flint—start better—to show him how deep his emotions ran.  He didn’t know if the younger man had ever really understood that it was more than a highly enjoyable sexual fling.

Now he just needed to convince Flint they should start from the beginning.

_And get it right._

* * *

 

_From: Autumn_

_To: Flint_

_Subj: re: Mission._

_What exactly do you mean you might not come back?_

_I just got you back, big brother, not quite ready to let you go again._

_I’ll do what you asked and go to Arcturus if you think it’s going to be safer than earth.  Dad’s moved back there anyway so I can visit with him for a while._

_Let me know when you’re back._

_Autumn_

* * *

 

_From: Jace Evans_

_To: Flint Shepard_

_Subj: re: Omega-4 Relay._

_I know you said you’d be going through the fucking thing, but I hadn’t anticipated you going through so quickly._

_I’d help make sure your sister moves, but I’m stuck in Vancouver at the moment.  I heard through the grapevine that you’ll be heading this way afterwards to deal with that mess from Dr. Kenson._

_Get your ass back safely. You hear me?_

_Jace_

* * *

 

In the months since waking up at the Lazarus station, Flint had gone straight to work on recruiting the crew he’d need to take on the collectors.  He had tried to ignore anything that even came close to being personal.  He’d gone out of his way to avoid _everyone_ not just Hackett.   He hadn’t come to grips with dying which made living…almost impossible.

Autumn had cornered him on the Citadel a few weeks back.  She’d looked more exhausted than Flint could ever remember seeing his little sister.  She’d apologized—repeatedly—until he’d told her ‘to shut the fuck up and give him a fucking hug.’  They’d both wisely avoided mentioning Hannah and what caused their argument before he died.

Standing in front of his terminal, Flint bent forward with his palms wresting against the top of the desk.  He knew the Omega-4 Relay was a suicide mission.  He’d just been so focused on _getting_ to where they could enter the relay that he’d forgotten all the relationships which had been shattered by his death.

_How the fuck would they handle him dying for a second time?_

“Said all your goodbyes?”

Flint shut down the terminal without sending the message to Lino and turned to find his dad holding a bottle of whiskey along with two glasses. “Not a fan of goodbye.”

“We ever going to talk about you fucking dying on me?” Zaeed poured a healthy sized drink for both of them then set the bottle down. “You’ve been avoiding me like a goddamn coward.”

“We’re on the same ship. How the fuck can I avoid you?” Flint bristled angrily at the insult.

“And how many goddamn times have we talked about the important shit?” Zaeed made himself at home on the couch and glared at his son.  “You’ve gotten too bloody focused on the mission.  Have you even talked to Lino or Autumn about what we’re about to do? What about Hackett?”

“I talk.”

“Not about dying.”

“Fuck. Dying.” Flint clenched his fists _and_ his jaw to maintain a semblance of control.  Cerberus’ upgrades had done a number on his biotics.  He didn’t want to hurt his dad—or break his fish tank—again. “There, I fucking talked about it.”

_“Flint.”_

He watched his dad’s fingers turn white as tightened around his glass. “Look….”

“No, _you_ fucking listen to me for once.”  Zaeed flung the glass across the room.  They both watched it shatter just to the left of the aquarium.  He strode across the room and placed firm hands on his son’s shoulders. “You go into this fucking mission thinking you’ve got all your goodbyes handled and you’re going to screw with your head.”

“But…”

“ _No.”_   He shook Flint roughly a few times. “We’re both coming back from this goddamn mission. Is that clear?”

“Dad.” Flint leaned forward to rest his forehead against his dad’s chest. “It’ll be fine.”

“Of course, it will. I’ve got your goddamn back.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

* * *

 

_From: Zaeed Massani_

_To: Lino Ortiz_

_Subj:  re: Omega-4 Relay._

_We’re back._

_My idiotic son is in the Med-Bay.  He almost didn’t make it.  Bashed himself into the side of the Normandy.  I just barely managed to drag his ass onto the ship._

_I’m too old for this goddamn bullshit._

_Doc says he’s gonna be fine, but…she didn’t see him before we went on the mission.  He’s doing his usual shit of not dealing with things._

_I think you should tell Hackett to talk to him._

_Because I’m not fucking asking the bastard for help._

_Zaeed_


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There will be an epilogue eventually.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bioware owns all sadly.
> 
> Kudos, Subscriptions and Bookmarks are a drug that I love to receive. Comments are chocolate, they make everything better. I am thankful for all of them.
> 
> Shout out to my spectacular betas: CelticGrace & MissMeggo929
> 
> Hope you enjoy

Admiral Steven Hackett had enough self-awareness to admit to himself that he had a problem.  A Flint shaped one to be exact. He struggled to resist the urge to take the man up against the nearest wall—or anywhere really.  Public places seemed to particularly amp up his arousal.

It caused particular problems when Hackett needed to escort Flint around the Vancouver Alliance Headquarters.  For several weeks now, he had restrained himself—been the picture of Admiral perfection.  He also had a perpetually painful hard-on that reminded him of his long forgotten days right after puberty hit.

It was ridiculous.

And inevitably.

He broke.

“Steven…wha…”

Hackett clasped his hand over Flint’s mouth to silence him.  “I have to leave in a few hours.”

Flint raised his eyebrows, the question obvious in his gaze.   Hackett could see the annoyance at their current position though from the hardening length against his thigh—not too annoyed.    He seemed more frustrated than anything.

“We had our date.” Hackett smiled at the faint tinge of red on Flint’s neck.  “One wrecked skycar later…”

Flint bit the palm of the hand covering his mouth.  “You were…I’d like to see you fucking focus on driving with a mouth on your dick.”

“I’d rather have ‘my dick’ in your mouth right here.” He revelled in the pleasure of watching the blush spread all the way up to Flint’s cheeks. “I wanted to wait as a demonstration of the depths of my feelings.”

“ _Steven.”_ Flint muffled his moan of pleasure by tightly compressing his lips when Hackett reached between them to grasp him firmly through his trousers. “The committee…”

“I love you.”

The only way Hackett even knew that Flint had heard him was the sudden stillness in his normally hyper-active body.  He didn’t even seem to be breathing.   He wondered if perhaps it had been too much.  They knew the depths of their feelings for each other, though Flint never seemed quite comfortable with expressing them.

In a sudden and unexpected show of dominant strength, Flint shoved Hackett away from him.  He caught him by the upper arms and forced him to walk across the hall into an empty office.   They stumbled backwards against a large desk in the center of the room.

“Flint?”

Hackett found himself completely ignored.  Flint’s entire attention focused on first removing the admiral’s shirt.  His fingers slid through the sparse grey hairs before Flint leaned forward to flick his tongue across one of Hackett’s nipples.

Bringing his hand up to cup the back of Flint’s head, Hackett held him against his chest.   He didn’t mind a little aggression.   It was a pleasant surprise for the younger man to take the initiative.  He didn’t, however, want him to forget who was _really_ in charge.

“Enough.”

Flint blinked a few times then leaned away from Hackett as far as he could go with strong fingers gripping his hair. “Steven?”

“You’re going to fuck yourself.”

“The hell?”

He took a seat in the large, thankfully sturdy, office chair after shoving his trousers and briefs to the floor.  He stroked his already hard cock with a slightly smug smile at the way it affected Flint. “Have a seat.”

With Flint balanced carefully in his lap, Hackett grabbed a packet of lube from his shirt pocket.  He coated his fingers and set about preparing his lover.  He twisted his fingers around, teasing his prostate until Flint cursed him out for being a fucking tease.

Swatting the side of Flint’s thigh, Hackett got him to lift up slightly.  His arm wound around Flint’s abdomen, using it to guide him down onto his cock.  They both moaned at the sudden sensations.

“Show me your strength.  _Move.”_   Hackett twisted his upper body slightly to allow him to catch a hold of one of Flint’s nipples with his teeth.  He bit down, causing Flint to buck up then back down. “That’s it.  Make yourself come.”

“ _Steven.”_

It was a testament to the high level of frustration they’d both been working under that Flint managed to ride to his first climax quickly.  Not waiting for him to recover, Hackett lifted him up and got to his feet as well.  He pressed him down on top of the desk, his fingers drifting in and out of him a few times before he slammed himself back into him.

“One day, we’ll do this on an actual fucking bed.” Flint collapsed on the desk with a groan when they’d both managed to achieve orgasm yet again. “A nice, comfortable bed.

And that was _that_.  Hackett didn’t realize until he was buried in reports in his quarters on the command ship that Flint never actually returned his sentiment.   

* * *

 

_From: Jace Evans_

_To: Flint Shepard_

_Subj: Re-Routed._

_As soon as the invasion hit, Hackett ordered the Normandy to head to Mars.  We’d just made the jump into the system.  It was Mars or Earth.  We had no chances of beating the reapers to Earth, so went to Mars instead.  We were just barely ahead of them, but ran into Cerberus instead._

_The Illusive Man sends his best wishes for your immediate death._

_Lovely man._

_Autumn and Shaun are safely on board the ship.  I’d picked them up on Arcturus hoping to surprise you.  The station has been completed destroyed by the reapers.  So…I’m glad I’ve got them.  I’m sure Autumn will shoot you a message._

_No word on your dad._

_Admiral Hackett is on a ship safe with the remnants of the fleet._

_And that’s my news._

_How the fuck are you doing?  Have you heard anything from Lino at all?  He was supposed to be in Vancouver._

_Stay safe._

_I still owe you a beer and a pizza. Though if I’m putting up with your little sister, maybe you own me one. Eh?_

_Jace_

_P.S. Don’t worry. I’ll be nice to your ship._

* * *

 

_From: Flint_

_To: dad_

_Subj: You there?_

_Damn it._

_Are you fucking alive? I don’t even know if this is going to go through.  Comms are down.  It’s all gone to shit here._

_You’re too damn stubborn to let giant roaches do you in. Right?_

_Flint_

* * *

 

Flint had been listening to the explosions and the screams for what felt like an eternity.  They were getting closer.  He’d spent his first few months on Earth with Anderson.  And then one night on a scouting mission, he’d gotten trapped during a husk attack.  The marines with him assumed the worst and left him for dead.

Anderson had left for London a few days later.  Flint made it back to their secure bunker to find it completely empty—no supplies, no weapons, no marines.   Now a month later, he still had no idea what was happening outside of Vancouver.  He didn’t care for being alone aside from the husks.

And then two days ago, Flint had been scavenging amongst the rubble of the old Alliance headquarters for food and ammo when he’d rescued yet another survivor.  _His mother._   It was like god had decided to just shit all over him.  The reapers weren’t enough, no, now he was alone in a make-shift shelter with the bitch who still haunted his nightmares.

“Flint?”

He pulled himself out of his thoughts, still listening to the booms to determine how far close the enemy had gotten. “ _What?”_

“I’m…” She seemed to struggle with herself. “I’m so…”

“Apologize and I’ll let the fucking monsters have you.” Flint closed his eyes, counting under his breath until his biotics were under control.  He hated showing her that she could still affect him.  “You are twenty plus years too fucking late.  You’ve got nothing I want to hear.”

“Flint…son.”

“Call me that again and I’m killing you myself.” Flint snapped at her angrily.

* * *

 

_From:  Zaeed Massani_

_To: Lino Ortiz_

_Subj: Our Son._

_I don’t give a damn what the Alliance’s plans are.  I don’t give a damn if every available marine is in London.  I’m going to fucking Vancouver and I’m going to find our fucking son._

_What part of that is confusing you?_

_You going with me or not?_

_Let Hackett deal with the Reapers and saving Earth._

_The bastard has gotten good at shit like that._

_Zaeed_

* * *

 

They found Flint four days after the end of the war.  He was sitting on the ground, starting at a familiar woman with a single gunshot wound to her head.  Zaeed exchanged a glance with Lino before crouching in front of his son.

“Flint?”

“She shot herself.” Flint’s voice was hollow; devoid of any emotion even anger.  He nudged the pistol resting next to his boot. “I left it for her protection so I could get food and came back to a dead body.”

“Are _you_ hurt?”

“She shot herself.  What a fucking bitch.”  Flint kicked the pistol away. “I thought you died.”

“Flint?” Zaeed wasn’t really sure his son was _aware_ of his surroundings anymore. “Son? When was the last time you ate something?”

“Three days? Five? I lost count.  I gave her the last of the rations.” He seemed to lose his train of thought after a moment. “Why would she kill herself?”

“Maybe it’s better you don’t know.” Zaeed lifted Flint up to his feet and guided him out of the bunker. “You couldn’t have sent a goddamn message to let me know you weren’t dead?”

“How?” Flint pulled a mangled disc out of his pocket. “My omni-tool has seen better days.”

 Zaeed yanked his son into his arms. “You took a bloody year off my life.”

He pressed his face against the hard chestplate of his dad’s armor. “We’re not dead.”

“No, you’re both idiots, but not dead.” Lino threw his arms around both of them. “We should get back to the shuttle.  There are a few people who might be interested in seeing you.”

* * *

 

_From: Jace Evans_

_To: Zaeed Massani_

_Subj: re: Found Something._

_What does ‘we found something’ mean exactly?  Did you find Flint? Did you find his body? I’m not telling Autumn anything.  She can go crazy on your aggravating ass._

_Oh, prepare yourself; I’ve got Hackett with me.  He decided to take command of my ship because I was coming to Vancouver._

_Did the husks destroy all the beer? I could use one._

_Jace_

* * *

 

A shower, food and a bed were all top priorities for Flint.  He unfortunately had to settle for powers bars and bottled water.  He’d lost a lot of weight over the war with his biotics eating him alive.  The diminished rations had not given him near enough nutrients.

“Have another one?” Lino held up a fourth bar for him.

Flint rubbed his chest with a grimace.  “I’d rather eat fucking roast husk at this point.  I’d kill for a pizza.”

“And that’s new how?” Lino grinned at him then scowled at Zaeed.  “Kicking the shuttle won’t fill it with fuel.”

“Bloody useless thing.”

“Your father.”

“Your husband.” Flint grabbed the extra power bar and forced himself to eat it. “I hate the shitty bars.”

The three men were lounging outside of the shuttle when multiple Alliance shuttles began to land near them.  Flint kept his eyes closed to block out the sun, listening to the sounds of boots hitting the ground.  He kept his eyes shut tightly when he heard a familiar voice giving out orders.

He wasn’t sure he could handle seeing the relief on Hackett’s face.  His dad’s had been bad enough.  Lino still glanced at him every so often like he thought he might disappear or keel over.

A second later a body collided with his—Autumn.  Flint hugged his little sister tightly.  He struggled for breath with her knee pressing into his stomach.  She clung to him, sobbing against his armor.

“I’m fine, squirt.” Flint ruffled her hair then sent a grateful smile to Shaun when he pulled his daughter up. “Glad you’re both fine. I worried.”

“You worried?”

Before Flint could respond, Hackett had an arm around his waist, lifting him to his feet.  He gripped Flint by the neck to drag him closer. Their bodies pressed together.   He chose to ignore the faint growling from behind him when Hackett’s lips met his—his dad could look away for all he cared.

“Steven?” Flint waited until Hackett leaned back. “I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Young Flint: http://pixelatrix.tumblr.com/post/101813973161
> 
> Adult Flint: http://pixelatrix.tumblr.com/post/101391856526/flint-shepard
> 
> Hannah: http://pixelatrix.tumblr.com/post/95208263176/dailyactress-diane-kruger-at-variety-studio-in
> 
> Shaun: http://pixelatrix.tumblr.com/post/101800416291/silverfoxmen-remco-van-der-linden-model
> 
> Autumn: http://pixelatrix.tumblr.com/post/101800485531


End file.
